The Lone Fish-man of the Green Isle
by rsanders22
Summary: Ever wonder how a fish-man would react growing up around humans? This is the story of Swete White Star Arlo. Set twenty-two years before the current story, watch as Arlo gets back to his roots as a fish-man.
1. Chapter 1

The wind slowly moved through Arlo's hair. He could feel the grass soothe him to near sleep. As he was about to fall asleep he began to wonder if he would dream of Fishman Island. That place was so much different from this village. Granted this was home, but still it was hard being the only fish-man in a village of humans. Lately in the dreams he saw himself on a pirate ship that had crossbones and a saw-shark profile on the flag and main sail (well it wasn't really himself, but his alter ego Arlong). This dream had left Arlo with a feelings of anger, hope, and maybe a little of fear, and a hunger to prove himself. Finally sleep came to overtake him.

The dream turned out to be a flashback to the first time he actually met a fish-man. At the time he was about thirteen his back fin hadn't developed yet. He was hunting a really big tuna (about his size). He had been on the trail of this particular tuna for about two days. He wanted to prove to himself that he could catch something that big. The tuna had finally slowed to rest. Arlo cracked a grin for today was going to be great one. He put more speed to his kicks. This was his favorite part of the hunt, the syncing of predator and prey's heartbeats.

At mere inches away from his prey, he had just started to open his mouth when a red blur darted in front of him. In the blink of an eye the tuna was gone. Arlo was still going too fast and crashed mouth and nose first into a rock. He pulled himself free leaving a set of teeth in the rock. Arlo saw red and no deep breathing exercise would cure this anger. He turned his head and saw the red blur and the stolen tuna.

The red blur turned out to be a slightly older fish-man. He was very thin. He also had on a ragged tank top and ripped clothed pants. He took a bite of the tuna. At any other time Arlo would have questions, but this wasn't the time.

"Hey you big jerk that's mine!" he yelled.

The red fish-man raised his head from the freshly dead tuna and snickered, "Tough luck kid, it's mine now," he answered and buried his head back into the tuna.

"It's not fair. I've been tracking that tuna for two days."

"Two days, ha, you think too much, kid. At least you tried. Thanks for cornering this for me."

"But it's still mine."

"Ha, still stuck on that? Well maybe you should rely on instinct," the red fish-man laughed. This time he got a really good look at Arlo. Suddenly he cracked a big smile as if he actually knew Arlo. "Hey, Arlong! Quite being so mad I won this fair and square. I'll give you a piece if you shut up. Since when do you have a star mark on your right shoulder? Why are you only wearing shorts?" Arlo ignored the questions.

He swam back to the rock he just slammed into. "Heh, you think I'll just shut up about this Fish-man? Think again," he said to himself. When he got to the rock he turned around and kicked off. He went head long into the fish-man. The force startled the fish-man into losing the tuna. Arlo caught the tuna and said, "I win." He took a bite of victory and swam to a sunken tree and started to finish the tuna.

The fish-man let out a laugh as he swam after Arlo to the tree. "Ha, Ha! By D. you're not Arlong!" He slapped Arlo on the back. "Hey, Star Shoulder, what's your name?"

Arlo took a swallow before answering, "Swete White Star Arlo," he took another bite. He was calming down now.

"Well I was close calling you Arlong."

"Yes sir, just two letters off."

"Heh, you're more polite when you're fed. I didn't know there was a fish-men colony this far west."

Arlo blushed, "Oh, there isn't, in fact I'm the only one on this island."

"That's a bit strange…"

"Help!"

"What?" asked Arlo's thirteen year old self.

"Help!" The voice seemed to come from above the water.

"Huh?" Arlo woke with a start. For a second he forgot where he was. Then he remembered that he was on his favorite look out spot on the beach. He stretched to wake up a little bit more. He couldn't believe that it had been five years since he met Fisher Tiger. He began to wonder what Tiger was up to. Then he remembered why he was now awake. Arlo ran to the beach shore.

He ran and saw a beached whale (no he was a bit small to be a whale and he was wearing clothes) maybe a demon. What or who the thing was he didn't look good. "What are you friend?" Arlo asked as he came closer. His question was quickly answered when he saw the demon whale more clearly. He was a fish-man. The second one he had ever seen.

This fish-man was a lot bigger and wider than himself. "Help," he whispered this time.

"Hang on, I'm here," said Arlo. The fish-man was blue with two tusk-like lower teeth. His hair was black on top and blonde on bottom. "Hmm, I've never seen someone that strange before," Arlo thought to himself.

"Arlon…" said the stranger before falling silent. The name gave proof to Arlo that the stranger was alive. Unfortunately the stranger was very warm to the touch.

"Damn it he's burning up and his breath is shallow and fast," Arlo thought and he was getting worried. With a little effort he was able to lift the stranger. "Man he's heavy. Please stay with me."

Jinbei woke up in a strange room. The walls were adorned in strange posters of the "Green Isle Geckos", "The Lone Rider", and a band poster for the "Panda Bats". "Where am I?" he asked himself. He turned his head to see a strange black haired human girl sleeping in a chair next to the bed he was in. Was this a dream? He was sure that his brother Arlong had saved him from illness. If that were the case why was there a human sleeping in a chair? This was the first female human he had ever seen.

He wanted to wake the human up to find out the truth. He shook her leg. She stirred a little and mumbled, "No, Lo, don't dunk me." That didn't work he tried again a little harder this time. This worked a little too well. The human let out a scream and landed a kick on Jinbei's chin. She then toppled over in the chair.

"Oh," she said, "sorry I kicked you." She got up off the floor and straightened her glasses. "Did I hurt you? If I did sorry again," she said quickly.

Jinbei rubbed his chin, "A little, but there is no need to apologize. Where am I?"

"Oh, you're on Green Isle. My name's Nymphodora most people call me Nym."

Jinbei smiled, "Pleased to meet you Nym. My name is Jinbei. Is Green Isle close to Fishman Island?"

"No, we're about a few months ship ride from there, but no one ever goes there." Had he been blown that far off course? Now that the question of where he was had an answer he could smell frying pig and something else. The smells couldn't beat his hunger of questions.

"Where's Arlong?" he asked.

Nym smiled, "Oh, here he comes! Come on boy, do you want to check on the sick fish-man? Come on boy," said Nym.

Had his friend suffered brain damage? The question was swiftly answered when a big lean ball of fur and tongue landed on his chest. "Sorry, he's been sleeping on you for the past three days making sure you got better. I think he also gets you mistaken for my brother because you smell like him and you kept saying his name," laughed Nym.

"That's not who I meant," said Jinbei once he caught his breath.

"Who do you mean? That's the only Arlong I know of, unless you count my brother's imaginary childhood friend," answered Nym.

This was strange. Jinbei could have sworn that Arlong had carried him from the shore. He tried to explain, "No, Arlong is a fish-man like me, well not at all really. He has sharp teeth, bluish grey skin, a huge dorsal fin, and a saw like nose."

Nym's head was cocked until the last description. "Wait, did you say a saw like nose?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

"No, but you did almost describe my brother almost to a T. Wait a second I'll be right back," said Nym. At this she left the room. Jinbei pulled himself into a sitting position. Was there a fish-man colony on Green Isle? Nym didn't seem too scared by the fact that he was a fish-man. Truth be told he was a bit scared to be having a civil conversation with her.

When Nym returned she was carrying a picture, "Is this the fish-man you're looking for?" Jinbei took the picture. In it there was Nym and Arlong at a Panda Bats concert. Both Nym and Arlong were wearing purple and black face paints and Panda Bats tank tops. Nym was using his dorsal fin as a seat. The more he looked at the fish-man doubts began to form. He looked a lot like Arlong sure, but a few things were off.

The first thing was his hair. This fish-man's hair was black, yes but too short. For about five years Arlong had tried growing out his hair. The second and strangest were his smile and eyes. They were really happy. He had seen Arlong smile sure, but not like this. This happiness seemed to come from an inner light. The last and least strange was a wine colored star mark on his right shoulder. He thought he had seen that mark somewhere before. "Is this a tattoo?" he asked pointing to the mark.

"No, it's a birthmark. Mom says he's always had it since she found him."

"What do you mean she found him?"

Before Nym could answer Arlo stuck his head in the room and said, "Hey Nym and Demon Whale breakfast is ready." The demon whale man looked confused. Arlo tried to explain farther, "You know first meal?" He still looked confused. Arlo let it go. "Do you want to come down or I could bring you a tray?"

Jinbei shook his head, "You know what, I think I'll come down and eat with the both of you."

Arlo smiled, "Great, I've been meaning to wash those sheets. Oh, by the way Nym washed that outfit you were in. It's on that desk over there." He pointed to a desk in the corner.

"Thanks," said Jinbei. Nym and Star Shoulder left the room.

After they walked a few steps Arlo cracked a toothy smile. "That demon whale seems a few boards short of a shed doesn't he? But how cool is it to see another fish-man?"

"Oh, I don't know I've been talking to him and I think he's very smart and polite."

"Heh, yeah that cock-eyed look screams intelligence and politeness. I know when I look like that." Then he stuck out his lower jaw and turned his head.

"Shut up," said Nym and she punched him the right rib, "besides, aren't you a fish-man too?"

"Ouch! Yeah but, he actually grew up there. Still how cool is it to have a real fish-man here? I have so many questions," said Arlo. He then headed down stairs to set the table.

"He'll have a ton for you to, Lo," Nym said under her breath.

When Jinbei got out of bed, he felt really dizzy. Had he really been out for three days? Other questions seem to leave when the dog, Arlong, was scratching at the door. Jinbei opened the door to let the dog out. Once the dog left the room questions came running back. He started to put his outfit back on.

"How could there be only one fish-man be this far out? Could he really be a brother or twin to Arlong? That's absurd there's no way Arlong could have a twin brother. Well there was his half-sister and he only found out about that until three years ago. What did Nym mean when she said that their mom had found him? Did that mean he was raised by a human?" Jinbei put other questions on hold because he was starving.

Jinbei walked down the stairs to the smells of food. Star Shoulder was wearing plaid sleeper pants and a black shirt with a white star. He and Nym were already sitting at the table. Star Shoulder gave one of those strange smiles as he stood up to greet the guest. "Hey Demon Whale welcome back to the land of the living. Hungry?"

"Starving, by the way my name is Jinbei," he answered. Star Shoulder gave a laugh that actually reminded him of the real Arlong. He stuck out his hand and they shook. Jinbei then sat down at the open seat next to Nym.

"Pleased to meet you, Jinbei, name's Arlo." He sat back down. Then noticing the bruise on Jinbei's chin he let out another laugh. "I see you've already met my sister Nymphodora. Did she kick you? I heard a big commotion upstairs while I was making breakfast, but then it stopped."

Jinbei was startled at Arlo's lack of worry over his sister, "Why didn't you come in and stop us? I could have killed her."

At this Nym laughed, "Really a fish-man three or more days sick with fever could kill me? I know your people are strong, but right now Jinbei you're too weak." At this point Jinbei's stomach let out a deep growl.

Arlo laughed to break the tension, "Well that settles it Jinbei's hungry. Let's eat!" The table was set with ham steaks, scrambled chicken eggs, flat bread looking things, and a pot of warm brown liquid. Whatever the last two things were, Nym and Arlo were scarfing them down. "Um, Arlo?" he asked. That name felt strange to say and it also reminded him of Arlong's stuffed toy bob cat. "What are these?" He pointed to the flat bread and pot of liquid.

Arlo swallowed, "Oh, you mean the pancakes and syrup? You've never had this before? Don't worry it's the best." He stuck his fork into the stack of unclaimed pancakes and pulled out three. Jinbei was taken aback by his eyes. Arlo placed the pancakes on his plate. Nym had the syrup and passed it to Jinbei. He poured the liquid on the stack of pancakes and sliced into them. He took a bite and smiled.

Arlo laughed, "Told you." The three of them kept eating. Nym was the first to finish. Arlo and Jinbei got into fork fight over the last piece of ham steak, but eventually Jinbei won.

"Ahh, that was good," said Jinbei.

"Yeah," said Arlo with a stretch, "Crude I need to change clothes and open the store. You got afternoon right Nym?

"Yes now get going, Lo." Arlo ran upstairs to change.

"What type of store is it?" asked Jinbei.

"A candy store, it's been in the family for about three generations," answered Nym.

"Is your mother working today also?"

"No, she's sailing in the West Blue selling candies. She's been gone for about four months and should be back in a couple of days."

"She sails the world's oceans selling candies? Why?"

"Pirates love candy from their childhood. She gathers ingredients to make new different flavors of candies for the store and sales routes. For example she makes West Blue candies for the North Blue and all the rest. It's really fun to test the candies," explained Nym.

"I noticed Arlo was a little fidgety at the table. How come?"

"Arlo's getting restless because he's ready to sail himself."

"Why?"

"Man, you're full of questions aren't you? I don't know why, he just gets restless. Normally around this time he sails with his friends, Drac and Timbo, but since Drac left last year Arlo really hasn't felt the same. He could go alone with Timbo, but it's just not the same with the two of them," said Nym.

"You're right, Sis, it's just not the same without Drac," replied Arlo as he came back down the stairs.

With a full stomach Jinbei was able to get a clear look at Arlo. From what he saw Arlo was the same height as Arlong, but he seemed to hold himself very straight. He was wearing a white button-up shirt with rolled up sleeves, khaki cargo shorts, a red sash around his waist, and plain black sandals. His hair was longer but still shorter than Arlong's. He also had a real tattoo of a wolf on his right forearm. Something that gave Jinbei a pause to laugh was a gold ring in his dorsal fin. He laughed. "How could someone so strange feel so familiar?" he thought to himself. Then out loud he asked, "Umm, Arlo, mind if I come with you to the store?"

"Sure I could use some company. Let's head on down," smiled Arlo.


	2. Chapter 2

The day was brilliant sunny one Jinbei was a little nervous to see a human village. He had never really seen humans out of battle. He liked the fact that he could actually see the sun and feel a breeze in his hair. He could hear the sound of birds moving through the trees. He couldn't help, but smile as he and Arlo walked down the road. So far the walk was quite. Then a question came into his mind "Umm Arlo, how long have you lived in this village?" he asked.

Arlo shrugged, "Well, let's see I turned eighteen in October, so forever." Now it was his turn to ask a question so he asked, "So Jinbei what brought you here? I know part of it was your fever, but still we're about three months west from Fishman Island."

"Well, I was on this mission for…" Did he really want to give this information to a perfect stranger? Arlo may look like Arlong, but he wasn't.

Arlo let out a nervous chuckle, "You know what forget it that was a little personal." Arlo knew that he had to save the conversation so he decided to swing for the fences. "Why do you look at me strangely?"

"What do you mean?"

Arlo took a deep breath to explain his problem, "I mean you look at me like I'm supposed to know you, but I don't. Also you kept saying "Arlong". My dog got so excited that he just stayed on my bed waiting for you to wake up. So the question I'm getting at is who's this Arlong guy?"

Before Jinbei could answer two boys and an old man came up the road. "Good morning, Arlo," said the boys. The old man ignored Arlo and Jinbei until he got a strange look in his eyes.

"Hey half fish," said the old man. Arlo tensed up a little bit. "You're a little late, Timbo had to open the store, but he didn't have the key to the office and I need to pay for my caramels.

Arlo looked down at his watch. He had a feeling that the old man was lying. He was, but this wasn't the time to fight back. "Oh, really? Hey Sam, Bobby can you show Jinbei the way." There seemed to be a little bit of a growl to his voice as he left for the store.

As soon as Arlo left the old man chuffed, "Those things shouldn't be allowed to live. They should just stay in the water. They're just messing up our perfect human world." Jinbei thought that the boys would take the old man's words to heart.

Until the blonde haired boy yelled, "Shut up Arlo is the greatest! Every time I come into the store he always greets me by name."

"Yeah, he's also the best hand-walker in town," replied the brown hair boy. "He never talks down to anyone. You're only mad because he looks different."

"Damn straight boys," said a third voice, "Personally I would kill for his strength and his back fin. I couldn't ask for a greater friend." This voice belonged to a man about the same age as Arlo. He was fairly short and stout. "What's this shit you're saying about Arlo and me? Far as I can see he was on time. He was just talking to this demon whale here," pointing at Jinbei.

"I wanted to split them up. I heard that one talking about a mission; I figured that it was one to wipe us out. They want to start a new colony for their kind."

"What?!" yelled Jinbei. His anger began to boil and he was ready to strike, "Fish-man kar…"

"Whoa Demon Whale stop!" said the short man who was standing in front of him.

"Please, Mr. Jinbei," said the brown hair boy.

"This is what he wants, why do you think Arlo ran ahead? Please don't hit him," said the blonde hair boy. Jinbei let out a grunt.

"He's all talk. Leave him be, I think you might kill him given the chance," said the short man who was starting to shake, "That'll just prove his point."

The old man walked down the road grinning, "I will be over for my caramels, Timbo, just keep those freaks away from me." He pointed at Jinbei again, who let out another grunt.

The short man let go of Jinbei. He was visibly shaking. After the old man left he spat on the ground, "Bastard," he said under his breath.

Jinbei looked down at him, "So, you're Timbo?"

Timbo got a hold of himself and smiled, "Yep, the boys said your name was Jinbei right?"

"Yes, did you mean what you said about Arlo?"

"Sure did that back fin of his is amazing! Imagine all the ladies I could get? They love to play with the ring on it. I think Lo doesn't use it enough to his advantage. Also that strength of his is really handy. It takes him about ten minutes to load a wagon full of crates at the store, though I think he holds back a lot of it."

"No, I mean the friend comment you made?"

"Yep, I feel like anytime I'm in trouble he's always there to help me out. That's saying a lot from me."

"Why?"

"When we were kids, I was the biggest bully to him. It's something that I'm not proud of. I still feel like I need to repay Arlo in some way for what he did for me."

"What did he do to stop the bullying?"

Timbo chuckled, "When we were ten, he saved my life." He let out a great big laugh.

The boys laughed, "We meant what we said too."

Jinbei smiled. "You boys don't find him scary?"

They shrugged, "When we were little sure, but everything is scary when you're little," said the blonde hair boy whose name was Sam.

"How did you get over your fear of Arlo?" inquired Jinbei.

"For me it was when he did a hand stand and walked the front porch of the store. Then he did a forward hand spring, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen," said Bobby.

Timbo laughed, "And after that Bobby has been trying to do the same thing."

"Yep," said Bobby, "and I'm getting really good at it too." At this he bent down and brought himself up on his hands. He walked for a little bit then fell over. "Well, I'm still working on it." He chuckled.

They started to walk down the road. Jinbei turned to Sam, "What about you?"

"Well, it was when I went into the store by myself for the first time. I was about four at the time and my parents were busy doing something and I really wanted a candy stick. So, I walked in the store and Arlo was sweeping the floor and humming a song. I got kind of scared because he was so tall. I walked up to him and tapped on his leg. He bent down to me and said, "Hello there? Can I help you?" I told him what I wanted a grape stick so, he got me one. I didn't have any money so he let me have it for free," explained Sam.

"Oh, yeah and there's also the swimming lessons that he holds every Thursday," said Bobby, "A lot of us kids want to be pirates after the execution of the pirate king last year. How cool would it've been to see that happen in person?"

"Oh, it was a grand event to see. It was as if time slowed for a brief moment. It really lit a fire in all of us who saw it," sighed Timbo.

"You were in Rouge Town at the time of the execution?" asked Jinbei.

"Yeah, Drac, Lo, and I went there just to see the place where Roger was born. The event itself was treated like a parade. Roger was smiling all the way. It was as if he was walking to accept an award and not his death. It was a little bit strange."

"He was smiling all the way?" said Bobby.

"Sure was. I will never forget his final words. Someone in the crowd had asked him where his treasure was hidden." The boys and Jinbei were glued on his every word.

"Where is it?" asked Sam.

Timbo smiled knowing he had his audience and said quietly, ""You want my treasure? You can have it; I left it all in one piece. Now you just have to find it."" The boys smiled.

"Where did he leave it?" asked Jinbei.

"My best guest somewhere on the Grand Line, but maybe there is no such thing," replied Timbo. "Personally I believe that it exists, but I don't think it'll be found in one year after his death."

"How long do you think it will take, Timbo?" asked Sam.

"Maybe five or ten years."

"What if it's never found?" asked Bobby.

"Oh, it'll be found, but I think that the person who finds it has to be made of special stuff. The Grand Line is a rough and scary place, you need to have something extra in you to conquer it," reflected Timbo. As he said this they arrived at the store. The sign of the store had a smiling cat on it and said, "Swete's Chocolate and Candy."

The old man slammed the door open angrily and the bell rang quickly. "Every time I come here you always raise the price of caramels," he said angrily.

Arlo came out of the store and leaned against the door frame. "I'm sorry, Mr. White, but sugar is expensive and it takes a long time to make "fresh" caramels," said Arlo. Jinbei and Timbo noticed that there was anger in Arlo's voice.

"I won't forget this half-fish. You may have the whole village behind you, but I know what you're really like. You and that one over there," he pointed at Jinbei. Jinbei felt his anger come on again, but he let it pass.

"Whatever, you got your caramels now get!" snapped Arlo. For a second Jinbei thought that he saw a change in Arlo's eyes. The old man left. Under his breath Arlo said, "Serves you right you damned liar." He took a deep breath and turned to Timbo, Jinbei, and the two boys and smiled, "Hi, guys! Enjoy your walk to the store?"

"Yeah," said Bobby, "Timbo was telling us what happened when you guys went to the execution of Gold Roger last year. He said that it was something to behold."

Arlo laughed, "Yes it was, but did he tell you that he fell asleep and dropped ice cream on my head?"

Timbo chuckled back, "You looked like a majestic unicorn or maybe a uni-shark. The only reason that happened was because I had a lot of sugar and it was super-hot that day. You're lucky that I didn't barf on you. Remember how hard Drac laughed at that?" The two of them started to laugh. Jinbei and the boys couldn't help, but laugh along with them.

"Yeah, that was one of the few times that Drac has actually laughed. For the rest of the voyage you guys called me, Arlo the majestic uni-shark. Geeze that sure was sticky, it took me two showers to get it out," reflected Arlo. Everyone laughed at that.

Timbo turned to Arlo and asked, "You really didn't raise the price of caramels?"

"No, it's still the same, besides Mom and Papa would kill me if I actually did that. Also it's a great way to get rid of week old caramels," replied Arlo with a devious smile. He turned to Bobby, "While that geezer was picking out his caramels, I noticed that it was your birthday today. How old are you?"

"Well, I'm eight today, Arlo," proudly answered Bobby.

"Then I guess you know why six was afraid seven?" asked Arlo.

"Yes," laughed Bobby.

"Why?" asked Sam who was checking out the taffies and not listening to the question.

"Really, you don't get it?" asked Arlo.

"No, I do I just want to hear the punch line," lied Sam.

"Because seven, eight, nine," laughed Arlo.

Everyone groaned. "I know, but it had to said," chuckled Arlo. "Now do you want a caramel or candy apple?" He went behind the counter to check the cash register.

"Umm candy," answered Bobby. Sam came up to the counter with a bag full of taffy.

"Alright, Sam, that will be three barriers for the bag of taffy." He handed Bobby his candy apple and took Sam's money. The register rang as he put the money inside.

"See you later, Arlo," said the boys as they left the store with a ring of the bell.

Timbo headed to the back to make more candies. Arlo and Jinbei were alone. Arlo opened the door to let the breeze in. He then grabbed a broom from a corner and started sweep the store. "Why didn't you charge Bobby for the candy apple?" asked Jinbei.

"It's his birthday. Usually we give the young children a free piece of their favorite candy. We do this until a kid is ten. A lot of them just get a candy stick," explained Arlo he pointed to table in the center of the store. "Granted it's usually the younger ones that get the sticks."

"What was your favorite to get on your birthday, Arlo?" he asked.

Arlo chuckled, "Simple a turtle."

"Aren't those made of meat?"

With an Arlong like laugh he replied, "Nym's right you sure are full of questions. To be more specific this is a turtle," he said pointing to a small glass case on the counter. Jinbei leaned in and saw a round disc of chocolate with pecan halves that made up the head and feet.

Timbo came out from the back and said, "Hey, Lo, give me a hand with this wagon."

"Sure thing Tim," replied Arlo he left to load the wagon that came from a general store from a different village.

Jinbei wanted to tell Arlo that there was a candy store on Fishman Island. John's was the biggest and only candy store on Fishman Island. Like Swete's it distributed candies to smaller stores on the island. He thought that Arlo would find that interesting as he started to walk across the store. He then stopped at the candy stick table and started to read the flavors. He stopped at a brown candy stick. The flavor of this stick was sassafras. He let out a laugh.

He then thought back to one time when Fisher Tiger had taken him and Arlong to John's. This was Arlong's first time to John's. He was ten at the time, while Arlong was five. Arlong kept telling them that he had been to a different. He said that his favorite candy at that store was the sassafras candy stick.

"What's sassafras?" he remembered asking.

"I think it's some type of tree found in the South Blue. I hear that the oil from those trees is used for cooking. So, it wouldn't surprise me if it was used for candy," replied Tiger.

"Really? All I know is that it's super yummy," smiled Arlong. Then they entered John's. John's was a very white and bright store. There were shelves and shelves of candy. They had everything from octo-tarts to fizzy sand (which was a favorite of Tiger's). Once he had gathered his own bag he decided to help Arlong and also he wanted to taste the mythical sassafras candy stick. He could only see regular flavors: bubblegum, peppermint, grape, blue raspberry, and several other flavors. But no sassafras. Arlong had a worried look on his face.

"Does it go by another name?" he asked.

"Mmm, I think that it might be called root beer," answered Arlong. They looked again but there was no root beer either. Later they left the store.

"No, sassafras, Arlong?" inquired Tiger.

"I thought they would have some. The other store did. I saw it and I helped make it. I carried a big thing of sugar into a gigantic blow. Then the people who own store put in the flavor and mix it. It smelled really good." Jinbei rolled his eyes. Arlong was always telling stories of doing different things and going to a different island. A favorite of his was swimming through a forest of sunken trees. Problem was that there was no such place.

Jinbei started to eat some taffy as they swam back to the District. He noticed that Arlong was a little upset. Arlong sighed, "You know Jinbei I was sure that they would have that flavor, because the other store did."

"There isn't another store on this island."

"Is so, I've been there. It's even bigger than John's. It's got wooden floors and gigantic windows and barrels full of candies. They have sassafras stick and other better candies that I've ever tasted. The people who work there are super friendly and greet me by name. The store smells like family and love," explained Arlong.

"Does love have a smell?" Jinbei asked.

"I don't know, but this place had it." Jinbei started to get excited as Arlong about this store. John's had been neat, but this store sounded like a paradise. Strangely enough he still wanted to go there but that was thirteen years ago. He was lost in thought when another old man came in the store and asked, "Excuse me young man, have you seen my grandson?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jinbei blinked back into reality, "Umm I think Timbo is in the back." He wondered if this old man was like the one he met on the road. Did he believe that he and Arlo would wipe out this village for some sort of holy cause? He knew that he couldn't show his true strength inside the store.

The old man let out a laugh that immediately put Jinbei at ease, "I don't mean, Timbo. I'm sure you would know him if you saw him. Big tall fellow, black hair, blue eyes, and what else? Oh, yeah a wolf tattoo on his right arm." This old man looked to be in his sixties and of a medium height. He also had salt and pepper looking hair and greenish yellow eyes like a cat. He continued to explain, "He also has a distinct laugh it's got a type of "sha-sha" sound to it.

At this Arlo entered the room with a laugh carrying a barrel full of assorted taffy. He put the barrel down and smiled, "Hi, Papa." At this the old man took a running jump and landed a punch on Arlo's head. Even though Arlo had a high pain tolerance, for some reason Papa's punches still hurt. "Ow," he groaned. A goose egg bump started to form on his head. Timbo came out from the back and saw the old man over Arlo. He started to laugh. Then the old man turned to Timbo and did the same thing. Both Arlo and Timbo were down on their knees. "Uuu," groaned Timbo.

Something about this struck Jinbei as strange. How could this old man bring down a full grown fish-man and a wall of a man? Did this old man have that special thing that Timbo had made a comment on earlier today? Why did he have a smile on his face as he punched Arlo and Timbo? A chuckle escaped his lips.

"Oh, so you think it's funny to laugh at other people's suffering?" inquired the old man. The old man ran toward him with his fist raised high. Jinbei tried to block the hit, but the old man was too fast and down he went. He never felt this much pain and love before; however it was still pain and down to his knees he went too.

"Augh!" he grunted.

"What the heck, Papa?" asked Arlo as he rubbed his head.

"Yeah, what the hell, Mr. Swete?" groaned Timbo.

The old man turned to Arlo, "Why weren't you at your house when I came by a little while ago?"

Arlo got to his feet as he started to explain, "Well, I had to open the store this morning. Then I ran into Mr. White, who was complaining about not having his caramels, but no one was at the store. He kept spewing his usual crap about me taking out this village for a new fish-man colony," explained Arlo.

"That bastard son of a celestial dragon," swore the old man under his breath.

"So, I got his caramels and I've been here ever since. Also how was I to know that you were coming home today? Besides Nym should've been at my house, didn't she tell you where I was?"

The old man blushed, "Well she tried but…" The bell rang as Nym and the dog Arlong entered the store. Like the three of them Nym also had a huge bump on her head. The dog Arlong came up to Arlo wagging his tail. Arlo smiled and rubbed his ear. Then the dog walked over to Jinbei, who was still on the floor, and gave him a great big lick on the face. Everyone laughed.

The old man sighed, "Fine, I'll let this slide, but just this once." He then cracked a grin and gave Arlo a big hug. "So, how you doing, Pup?"

Arlo picked him up for a proper hug. "Not bad. So when did you get back from the East Blue?" Arlo asked as he put him down.

"Oh, last night, I slept on my ship. Your mom not back yet? Normally she and I usually get back at the same time."

Nym answered, "No, not yet about a couple weeks ago she sent us a letter saying she had a delay on the Red Line. So she should be back at best guess the day after tomorrow. So how were your sales in the East Blue?"

"The sales were a bit strange the home Blue candies didn't sale as well as I thought they would."

"Really", asked Arlo, "which ones did?"

"Surprisingly it was the South Blue candies this time around. I guess they were looking for some exotic flavors. Speaking of exotic things Nymie says you rescued another fish-man."

Arlo couldn't help but smile, "Sure did, that's him over there." He pointed to Jinbei still on the ground with one hand rubbing the sore on his head, while the other was petting Arlong. The dog was demanding belly rubs.

The old man walked over with a sheepish smile, "Heh, sorry about that, but you really shouldn't laugh at other's pain."

Jinbei put down the hand that was on the sore, "I wasn't laughing at Arlo's and Timbo's pain. I was laughing at the fact that one punch was able to take them down," explained Jinbei.

The old man grinned as he explained, "Well, that's because it's a fist of love. It's more of a pain that comes from concern for a person."

Jinbei was still confused. How could this stranger show him so much love in one hit? "But why did it affect me in the same way? You don't know me at all."

"True, I guess I was just on a roll," laughed the old man, "Well, let's start with names. My name is Swete D. Henry, but most people call me Hank." Like Arlo earlier that morning he took out his hand to shake. He also cracked an Arlo-like smile.

Jinbei smiled and took it gladly, "Pleased to meet you sir, my name is Jinbei." He got to his feet. Inwardly he was glad that Hank was not like the other man. In fact he seemed a little bit like an older Arlo. They even held themselves in the same way.

Then Hank got serious. "Well, what are we all standing around for? There's candy to make and costumers to make happy. I'll take the front with Arlo since it's his shift. Timbo, Jinbei, you two will make and load the candies. Nymie, you will man the transponder snail and schedule the orders for the store. Everyone got that?"

All four of them and Arlong seemed to snap to attention. "Yes, sir!" they said together. Arlong barked.

"Good now let's get to work!" yelled Hank.

Jinbei couldn't remember the last time that he had ever worked this hard. His arms were sore from loading wagons and moving barrels and boxes around the store. Forty wagons was a lot to do for a morning. He was relieved when Nym said, "Thank God, I can go work in the front end. She left through the doors that lead to the front. Arlo and Hank came into the back. "Heck of a day, hey Pup?"

"Yep, so you want me to do dinner tonight, Papa?" asked Arlo.

"Yes, I'm feeling in the mood for salmon. Stop by the river and get umm… Hey Timbo you coming over tonight?" wondered Hank.

Timbo who could never say no to Arlo's cooking immediately answered, "Yes, sir in fact I'll bring the drinks."

"Great, so let's say ten salmons," replied Hank.

"Alright, then ten salmons. Hey Jinbei you want to come with me? I know that after an illness, I'm not myself until I get in the water," laughed Arlo.

Jinbei stretched, "Definitely, I didn't know that candy making and running a candy store was so hard."

"It's hard but that just make the reward all the more sweet," laughed Hank.

"Come on let's get going," said Arlo. They left through the front door. "Come on Long," he said calling to the dog, who was sunning himself, stretched, and came running to Arlo. He barked happily between the two fish-men.

Jinbei bent down and rubbed the dog behind the ear. Arlong grabbed a stick. Arlo took it and threw it a little way up the road toward his house. Arlong ran after it. "So, how did you come by Arlong?" asked Jinbei.

"Well, I got him from an island that breeds watch dog mounts for Enies Lobby. The breeder said that a wolf had gotten in with Long's mother. I just couldn't say no to his cute little face and you know the rest."

"So, he's a wolf-dog?"

"Yep, who better to own a wolf-dog than a fish-man?" laughed Arlo. The wolf-dog came back with the stick and stopped at Jinbei's feet. He dropped the stick and whined. "I think he wants you to throw it," said Arlo. Jinbei grabbed the stick and sent it flying. Arlong happily ran after it. A few people said hello to Arlo as they walked back to his house. Arlo waved happily to them as they walked by. Jinbei was watching a flock of birds flying by when they arrived at Arlo's house.

Arlo opened the door. The smells of breakfast still lingered in the house. He went into the kitchen and noticed that the table hadn't been cleaned. There was also a fourth plate on the table. "Papa must have come in like a whirl-wind," he thought to himself. He sighed, "Hey, Jinbei make yourself comfortable while I clean the kitchen. I promise we'll get in the water once I'm done."

"Sure thing, Arlo," said Jinbei. He headed to the living room. In the room there was a big black couch and a coffee table. On the table there were books on the world oceans, well known Jolly Rogers, and the latest volume of "The Lone Rider." He wondered if this was the same Lone Rider that Arlo had a poster of in his room. On the cover there was a masked rider on a bucking grey horse. He noticed that the volume number was seventy-seven. The cover interested Jinbei so he looked for the first volume of the story. Luckily the first volume was under the Jolly Roger book. He curled up on the couch and started to read the volume.

The cover of this volume had the same masked rider sitting in deep thought with seven crosses behind him. The volume detailed the origin of "The Lone Rider". The story followed a Futa Ranger named Smith. Smith was part of a group of seven led by his older brother Zorro. This group was sent to investigate the shady dealings of the notorious out-law Leo "King Fisher" Kingston. Their investigation leads them to a canyon where they were ambushed by Kingston's men. All seven men were presumed dead. A little while later a panda-man comes across the men and finds that Smith is alive and nurses him back to health.

Jinbei was getting to the part where Smith had fashioned his mask from his brother's vest. "Hey I didn't know you were a Rider fan? Isn't he the coolest?" asked Arlo as he entered the living room.

Jinbei jumped, "Oh, I just started. Does he catch Kingston?"

"I don't want to spoil it for you."

"But there are seventy-seven volumes already."

"So? I mostly like the side stories more than the main one," laughed Arlo. Jinbei noticed that Arlo had taken off his white shirt. He was now able to take a proper look at his birth mark. The mark was whine colored and seemed to cover half of his shoulder. "Let's head to the river, I'm ready for a swim, how about you?" Before Jinbei could answer a big bell came out of nowhere. "Damn it not again," swore Arlo, "it's probably nothing."

"What is it?" asked Jinbei who was getting worried.

"Pirates, but I thought I gave the port master a schedule of pirates coming in for orders this week," said Arlo. Then he laughed, "Looks like we'll need to put the swim on hold. At this Arlo grabbed three small black sticks and ran out the door. Jinbei followed him out the door. "Have you ever fought pirates before?"

"A few times, there's been a surplus of them since the execution last year," he replied.

"Good, let me talk to the captain. Maybe he forgot to call in an order. Either way this matter will be quickly resolved," said Arlo.

The village was a lot quitter as they ran through it to the beach. Timbo was leaning on the door frame of the candy store. "Hey Lo, do you guys need a hand?" he asked. Jinbei noticed that he had a big hammer next to him.

"No, I think we got this. If they do make a run for the village you three will be the first defense," answered Arlo. Timbo nodded in reply and headed back inside with his hammer.

They made a run for the beach. Once they arrived they were greeted by a huge ship. The flag had cross bones and a hornet on it. "Do you know this flag?" asked Jinbei.

"No, I've never seen this one before. Let's get up on the deck to talk to the captain." They climbed up a rope ladder to the deck. A man came up on to the deck. Arlo's voice went very formal, "Hello sir is your captain available to talk?"

"I am," said another voice that came from a cabin on the upper deck.

"Great," said Arlo with a smile, "I would like to welcome you to Green Isle. My name is Swete Arlo of the Swete candy house; have you come to place an order?"

The captain laughed, "No, we've come to take over. We like the look of this place. I guess your candy house will just be a bonus. This island will be the base of the Hornet Empire."

Arlo chuckled, "Sorry, we're not interested in being part of an empire." He grabbed the three small black sticks and made a staff. Jinbei noticed that his eyes suddenly took on a dark quality to them. "Last chance, we could stop and you can go on your merry way with Swete candy."

"No thank you, we want the whole island," replied the captain as he pulled out a sword.

Arlo shrugged, "Alright have it your way then. Before we start I have a question for you."

"What is it?" asked the captain with his sword drawn.

With an Arlong like grin, Arlo asked, "Have you ever fought a fish-man?"

"No," replied the captain, "how hard can it be?" He whistled for his crew. Then all of a sudden two hundred men appeared on the deck. All of the men had their weapons drawn.

Arlo and Jinbei were pushed back to back. Arlo lifted his staff and asked "You ready?" Jinbei nodded. Then twenty men surrounded Arlo. He leapt into the air. As he climbed up, he whispered to himself, "I am a wolf and I will protect the pack." He let out a howl as his staff swung downward. Five men fell to the ground. Then he swung his staff in a circle and the rest of the men fell to the ground.

"Impressive," said the captain, "you were able bring down twenty men. So far your friend hasn't even lifted a finger." Another ten men surrounded Arlo. He swung his staff and brought them down same as the first wave. He moved closer to the captain. He turned his head toward Jinbei who was in a wide stance his right fist was behind his head. He was surrounded by a hundred men. From what he could figure his friend was in a sort trance.

The captain was right. "Is he afraid? Maybe Tim should've come along as well," Arlo thought to himself. "No, I must have faith in my new friend," he thought.

The captain charged toward Arlo and swung his sword. Arlo was able to block the blow with his nose. He then swung his staff which missed the captain. The captain charged again. This time Arlo bared his teeth and bit the captain's shoulder. The captain groaned from pain and was able to walk away from the bite. His shoulder was bleeding. Arlo prepared to charge again.

The all of a sudden Jinbei yelled, "Fish-man karate Arabesque Brick Fist!" with a punch, but nothing happened.

The captain and Arlo stopped fighting. "Ha you didn't even hit any of my men," laughed the captain. Arlo wasn't so sure about that for some reason. All of sudden the men around Jinbei started to act strangely as if they were being hit a giant wave of air. Arlo could see an impression of a hit on the men. Then they toppled over.

Arlo cracked a smile due to the captain having a look of shock on his face. He raised his staff and dealt a final thump with his staff. The captain fell down to the floor. Arlo bent down and whispered, "Get off my island." The captain could only nod. Arlo let out a hearty laugh as he dismantled his staff.

The two fish-men walked off the ship. Once they hit the beach Arlo turned to Jinbei amazed, "Holy shit! That was awesome. The way you were like all silent and then," Arlo did a fake punch, "Bam! Down they go!" Jinbei couldn't help but smile as the younger fish-man detailed the hit. "So, what exactly is Fish-man Karate?" asked Arlo.


	4. Chapter 4

Jinbei started to explain, "Well, it's a fighting technique practiced by fish-men. It's more or less a manipulation of the water in air. The shock wave travels through the air and hits the water in the target. So anyone can be affected by the hits."

"Oh, so that's why it looked like you didn't hit them at first."

"Yeah, but you were pretty cool in the fight too," Jinbei shrugged.

Arlo shrugged back, "Oh, I don't know, I find my style a bit more defensive than anything. I don't usually attack first unless my friends or family are in danger, or if I get really angry."

Jinbei chuckled, "That's a bit noble of you."

"No, it's just the way I was raised and I try not to get that angry. When that happens I feel more like an animal."

"Hmm, well that captain sure was startled by that bite you gave him."

Arlo laughed, "Maybe he'll think twice before starting an empire. Do you think you could teach me a little Fish-Man Karate?"

Jinbei smiled, "Sure." The two of them laughed. The wind was a little faint as they came back to Arlo's house. "So where's this river at Arlo?" asked Jinbei as they entered the house and headed for the kitchen.

"Oh, it's behind here and down the road a bit," Arlo replied. He stretched, "Man, I'm hungry. You want anything?"

Jinbei smiled, "Sure, whatever you got."

"Mmm," said Arlo as he looked through the fridge, "I got some left over beef stew, how about that?"

"Sounds good." Arlo grabbed the stew pot, put it on the stove, and lit a fire. They sat down around the table.

"So, Jinbei how are you feeling? I bet you didn't think you would be fighting pirates when you got up this morning?" laughed Arlo.

Jinbei stretched, "No, I didn't. I have to say this place is quite lively. It even puts Fish-Man Island to shame."

Arlo chuckled, "Oh, I don't know about that. Fish-Man Island sounds amazing from what I've read."

"What have you read?" Jinbei was curious.

"Oh, just the basic stuff. How it's under the Red Line. That the island was formed because it was the only place fish-men and merfolk could find sunlight. So how do you actually get sunlight under the water?" he asked as he poured the stew into two bowls. He turned off the stove. He handed Jinbei a bowl.

Jinbei accepted his bowl as he explained, "It actually comes from the roots of a tree. It's called Sunlight Tree Eve." He took a bite of the stew.

"Oh, so it's just an artificial light?" asked Arlo as he sat down with his bowl. Did he want to tell Jinbei about his dreams? How he walked through the coral made streets, patrolling the coast in search of pirates. He would probably just laugh about it. The others did.

Jinbei swallowed, "Yeah and also that's another reason I like this place." Then he asked a question that had been bugging him, "So, am I the first fish-man you've actually seen?"

Arlo swallowed, "No you're my second. My first was actually a red sea bream. I met him five years ago at the same beach where I met you. I was hunting in the lagoon and this bastard came out of nowhere and stole my first tuna. Now what was his name Fisher something," Arlo took a bite of stew because he had feeling that Jinbei knew about Tiger.

"Big brother?" thought Jinbei as he eat his stew. "Did he travel this far out? If that were the case could Arlo be that kid Tai had ran into and fought against?"

"Oh that's right it was Tiger. Do you know him?"

Jinbei smiled, "Yeah, he's like a big brother to me!"

"Really? That's cool, how's he doing?"

"He's doing really well, but he left a week before I did. I wonder if he made it back before me."

"Maybe, let's hit the water," said Arlo as he grabbed the empty bowls and washed them off. He then grabbed a basket and whistled for Arlong. The dog came up to him. Arlo bent down and put on a saddle bag. They walked out of the back door with Arlong happily barking between them. A little way down the road they passed by a tree house with a green flag that had the letters EWS in blue. The flag waved happily in the wind.

Jinbei noticed that a tear was in Arlo's eye. Arlo quickly wiped it away. They reached the river. The water was a nice clear blue color and was surrounded by trees. One tree had a rope swing. Arlo cracked a grin and made a run for the rope swing. He grabbed on to it and gave a great big swing. At the height of the swing he let go and dove into the water.

Jinbei was impressed. He had never swung on a rope swing before. He wondered if the rope would break. Well Tai and Arlong were always telling him to take a little more risk in life. He gave the swing a tug. It seemed strong enough. He grabbed on to it with both hands and ran back. He ran forward and jumped off the ground. The swing sent him flying high up into the sky. He wondered if he would hit the sun. Then he quickly came down into the water in a great big splash. The force of the splash stung, but in a good way. He let out a laugh and swam to a big rock to look out for Arlo. Then he caught sight of Arlo.

Arlo had swum on a little ways. He was turning his head looking for salmon. Then he saw a big school of salmon. He silently kicked closer to them. A grin came across his face. He took a deep breath. He could feel the heart beats sync up. Jinbei noticed that Arlo had taken on a trance like state. He was very silent. Then Arlo put a cupped hand behind his head and quickly flicked his hand. Jinbei watched as the water drops from his hand became straight and dart like as they entered the salmon. The salmon started to fall. Arlo opened the basket and let the fish fall inside. "Let's see, oops, I caught twelve," Arlo said to himself. He swam to where Jinbei was sitting. He grabbed an extra one and took a bite of it. "You want the other one?" he asked Jinbei.

Jinbei was a little reluctant to take the salmon. He took it and bit into the fish and could taste the iron in the fish's blood. He nearly gagged. He threw the fish and Arlo caught it. He thought it was strange that Arlo had no problem eating raw fish. "More for me," said Arlo as he threw the other carcass away. He ate this one the same as the first as blood swirled around him like a red halo.

"Why are you only wearing shorts?" wondered Jinbei.

Arlo swallowed, "I find shirts and shoes extremely hard to move in while swimming. Don't you find it hard to move in your kimono and sandals? Also I hate the feeling of a wet shirt when you get out of the water. I mean it may give women a show," he laughed, "but it just feels a little heavy, but that's just me."

"I hadn't thought about that before. It makes sense. I guess it would hinder your hunting technique. Now that's amazing! I could barely see those drops," commented Jinbei.

Arlo shrugged, "Yeah, it is, but I think I could be quicker. I came up with it after I got caught in a rain shower in the woods four years ago. I came home to the store soaking wet and a fly got in my face. There was a drop on my hand and I swatted. That drop went flying and shattered one of the candy stick jars," remembered Arlo.

"It wasn't the sassafras one was it?"

Arlo thought that was a weird thing to ask. "No, it was banana stick jar, so I considered that a happy bonus. Nasty flavor. Mom wasn't all too happy that I broke it," Arlo turned a little pale thinking about the banana flavoring. Then he laughed.

"So he and Arlong don't like bananas," thought Jinbei. Then out loud he asked, "So what do you call this technique?"

Arlo tossed the salmon carcass. "Hmm, I hadn't really thought of a name for it, I guess Water Darts. I'm sure others can do it too and have a better name for it," laughed Arlo. He took off the basket and placed it on the rock and stretched. "Well I did promise you a swim let's race to that big boulder over there," he pointed to a boulder about a mile and a half down the way.

"Alright," smiled Jinbei as he got up and started to swim toward the boulder. He lost sight of Arlo until a bluish-grey blur whizzed past him.

"You gotta be quicker than that!" yelled Arlo as he swam past. Jinbei cracked a grin and put more speed to his kicks.

Arlo had a look of shock as Jinbei caught up to him. He couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't swum this fast since Drac left. They tied at reaching the boulder. "Heh, heh that was fun," laughed Jinbei.

"Yep," chuckled Arlo, "I can't remember the last time I swam that fast. Well let's stay for a little bit longer. Maybe you can teach me some Fish-Man Karate. I think we're eating at the store tonight."

"Great!"

After they swam for a little while longer they got out to head back to the house. Arlo put the basket on the ground and shook his body like a dog. Arlo grabbed the basket and got up. They started to walk back to the house. "You know I think you're right about clothes out of the water. They really do feel heavy on me. You got any spare clothes in my size?" asked Jinbei.

"Yeah, I think we might have some clothes at the store or we could go to town and buy some for you," said Arlo.

"You don't need to spend money on me," said Jinbei sheepishly.

Arlo shrugged. He whistled for Arlong, the dog came up with the saddle bag. Arlo opened it and grabbed a white tank top he put it on. He handed Jinbei the basket of salmon. "How good are you at cleaning fish?" he asked.

"I'm pretty good," answered Jinbei.

"Alright you do that and I'll get you some clothes," smiled Arlo. He turned to the dog, "Hey Long stay with Jinbei." The dog whined and seemed to nod. "Good boy."

Arlo was about to walk away when Jinbei asked, "Why are you doing this for me?"

Arlo gave a great big laugh and answered, "Easy because you're my friend and I have the same feeling that you would do the same for me. Now don't worry it's no big deal."

He left for the store and Jinbei headed for the house. He came in at the back door and headed for the kitchen. The dog headed over to corner and started chewing on a bone. He got the fish ready and grabbed a knife then got to work.

He started to think about his day on Green Isle. So far Arlo had been really nice to him; in fact the whole village seemed real nice, he thought. Maybe he should just stay here, but then he remembered his mission. He knew that he had to report on the whereabouts and dealings of the White Tip pirates.

When he was about half way through the fifth salmon, Arlo came back. "Hey, those are looking good. I got some clothes for you. Sorry if they're a little tight," said Arlo.

Jinbei washed his hands and took the bag of clothes from Arlo, "Thank you," he said and headed upstairs.

Arlo went into the kitchen and finished cleaning the salmon. He couldn't help, but smile. "When have I had a day this fun?" he thought to himself. It sure has been a while. Maybe it was the last time the EWS had met last year to see Drac off. "I wonder how Drac is doing?" he wondered to himself. Once the fish was clean he headed to the fridge and grabbed some ingredients to make a marinade. Once that was done he placed the fish inside a glass container and washed his hands.

Jinbei came down the stairs. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a Swete cat on it and grey sweat pants that had Swete in green letters down the left leg. He was also wearing in his geta sandals. The clothes seemed to fit well. Arlo laughed, "Sorry I made you look like a billboard, but I didn't know what you would like to wear."

Jinbei smiled back, "You know what I don't really mind. Thank you."

"No problem," said Arlo as he went upstairs to change. Awhile later he came down this time wearing a blue shirt with a black wolf head on it and jeans and the same black sandals he had on earlier in the day. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," answered Jinbei as he grabbed the container of salmon. Arlo whistled for Arlong. The dog came happily. They headed down the road to the store. The sunset was colored with brilliant oranges and pinks. Birds seemed to be flying home to nest. Arlo was humming a strange song that Jinbei hadn't heard before.

"What are humming?" asked Jinbei.

"Bink's Brew, it's an old pirate tune. Mom and Papa taught it to me. Papa said he met the actual pirates who came up with the song nearly thirty years ago. He says that their ship was terrifying, but they were really nice."

"Can you teach me the lyrics?" asked Jinbei.

Arlo nodded and started to sing the song. After he was done he started a second round and this time Jinbei joined in. They finished up when they reached the front door of the store. Hank came and greeted them at the door. "Hey Pup, Jinbei! Come on in!" he said with a hug to Arlo. They entered the store. Hank continued to explain, "Timbo and Nymie are closing things up."

"Great, I'll head up to the kitchen and get cooking," said Arlo. Jinbei followed him up the stairs to the living quarters of the store. The upstairs was very similar to the down stairs. The floors were wooden and the walls were an off white color. There were four bedrooms. Each room had a wooden door and a Jolly Roger on it. All flags were black.

The first flag had cross bones with a profile red tribal wolf's head in the front and there was also a small white star in the wolf's eye. The second flag was a little bit more traditional it was a skull and cross bones with a blooming vine with red flowers wrapped around it. The third was the smiling Swete cat with a candy apple and candy cane forming the cross bones. The last flag was actually his favorite. This flag had a different smiling cat on it with cross bones behind it and this one had one white star shaped eye while the other eye was a black star and a red flower in its teeth.

The living room had a different feeling to Arlo's. "Maybe this is the smell Arlong was talking about?" he thought then he smelled again, "No it's just the salmon."

He was looking at the pictures on the mantle. He stopped at one that had the whole Swete family in it. All three of them were wearing white button up shirts and blue jeans. Arlo and Nym were sitting on the ground smiling. Crotched down in between them had to be their mother. Well one thing was for sure, she was human. She was in her late thirties. Like Hank she had greenish yellow cat-like eyes. She had two tone brown hair that seemed to flare out at the ends. Her top canine teeth were a little bit longer, giving her the appearance of a bob cat. She was smiling and giving a peace sign.

"Ahh, I see you've finally got a look at Mom," said Nym who was behind him.

Jinbei turned around to face her still holding the picture. "That's her," he pointed to the woman in the center, "I kind of thought she would be umm well I don't know."

"More like you?"

"Well, yeah, or maybe a mermaid. I've never heard of a fish-man raised by a human," said Jinbei honestly, "It seems a little unnatural to me."

Nym's eyes darkened a little bit when she replied, "Love isn't defined by race or species, Jinbei. You haven't spent much time around humans, have you?"

He took a deep breath and said, "No, I never really seen humans out of battle. Actually you're the first female human I've met."

"Well, besides Lo you're the first fish-man I've met," confessed Nym, "and you know what? I'm excited to meet more fish-men and merfolk." Nym let out a laugh. Her laugh had a "nee-nee" sound to it.

Jinbei looked down at the picture and asked, "What's she like?"

Nym thought a moment before answering, "She's probably the kindest person you could ever meet. She always has a smile on her face. She's pretty quick with a joke. She uses laughter to put others at ease. The only thing that makes her mad is if someone she loves is in danger."

The last statement made Jinbei stop and think, "So that's where Arlo gets his fighting style."

Nym continued to explain, "She has a scar on her left shoulder."

"How did she get it?"

"I don't know she's always had it as long as I've known her, I was adopted when I was six," Nym explained, "For some reason Lo doesn't like to look at it."

"Why?"

Before she answered Timbo came into the room and said, "Who's hungry? Lo's got dinner ready and Mr. Swete is getting restless. Well let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

The whole meal looked amazing. The salmon had a nice warm brown glaze. There was also corn, baked potatoes, and green beans. The silverware clinked happily. Timbo had a ravenous smile. Everyone was piling on the food. "Ahh man, Lo, this is amazing!" said Timbo with a full mouth.

"I agree, Pup, did you use the honey glaze?" asked Hank.

Arlo who seemed to be thinking about other things simply said, "Yeah, I did." He went back to staring.

Jinbei was also really happy. He rarely had fish this good. Normally if he was home Tai would cook, but he was nowhere near this good. He couldn't help but notice that Arlo was a bit distant. When he asked Arlo to pass him something, he would just hand it and say nothing. "Why was he so distant?" he wondered. Out loud he asked, "Arlo, are you okay?"

Arlo turned and smiled, "Yeah, Jinbei, I'm fine. How do you like the meal?" Nym noticed that there was a high pitch to that 'yeah' Arlo gave.

Jinbei smiled back at Arlo and said, "This is really good. I can't remember the last time I've eaten this well." He put another piece of salmon on his plate.

Arlo grinned, "Thanks." He went back to his thoughts and eating. After the meal was over Timbo went to the kitchen and grabbed some drinks. He came back with five brown glass bottles. Four of them had red caps while the fifth had a blue cap. Jinbei was given the blue cap. Timbo started to pass around the bottle opener.

"What's this?" Jinbei asked as lifted the bottle opener and popped the cap.

"Root beer," answered Timbo, "Lo said you liked it. The rest of us have cider, you can have one too if you like. I think there's some wine if you like that."

"No this is fine, thanks Timbo." Jinbei turned to Arlo and tilted his bottle up. Arlo's eyes didn't look the same, but he still smiled and returned the toast. "Well, this will be something to tell Arlong," thought Jinbei as he took a sip. For a second he thought the drink would taste bitter, but he was surprised to find that it was sweet. The fizz seemed to tickle his throat. He let out a burp. The others laughed. Then he took another sip.

Hank started to tell of his trip in the East Blue. He said that most of the villages had been welcoming. Then he said, "If your mom was back, I was going to tell her that I ran into Krieg."

"Really?" asked Nym, "How is Uncle Donny doing? Is he still trying to build up his armada?"

"He's doing fairly well. Yes, he is I think he's up to fifteen ships now. He's started calling himself an admiral now, though I have no idea why. I guess if you have more than ten ships you can raise your rank from captain to admiral. He's still a terror in the East Blue," replied Hank.

"You'd think he would move on to the Grand Line," said Timbo.

"I heard that he's afraid," commented Nym, "I think he wants to stay in the East Blue, because he knows he can control it. They say it's the weakest of the Blues."

"Mom, always said that he was a fearful man," replied Arlo, "He would never strike unless he saw an easy opportunity." He then went back to thinking and picking at his plate.

Nym and Timbo noticed that Arlo seemed a little off. Normally he would be very engaged with Papa's sailing stories. Tonight however he seemed almost a million miles away. Also his eyes seemed a little dark. It was as if something was bothering him. He offered to clean the dishes while the rest of them drank. Jinbei offered to help, but Arlo barked back, "No thank you, Jinbei, I got this." He left for the kitchen with the dishes.

Timbo and Nym exchanged glances. "What's with him?" they thought.

Jinbei was confused as well. "Did I say something?" he thought to himself. He replayed the day over. Nothing came to mind for the most part Arlo seemed happy. Arlo came back to the table smiling "Maybe the thing that was bothering him had passed," thought Jinbei.

Arlo turned to Nym and asked, "You staying here tonight?"

Something in her brother's eyes was off and pleading for a favor. Clearly something was bothering him, "No, I think I'll stay at your house tonight." She felt like that was the right thing to say. Also she wanted to find out what had been eating him at dinner. The rest of the evening was pleasant.

All four of them said goodbye to Hank. Arlo whistled for Arlong, the dog came happily. They left through the store front. They walked a little way up the road. "Well guys, this is where I leave you," said Timbo. He gave Arlo and Nym a hug and shook Jinbei's hand. The rest of them headed for the house. They were all tired.

"Sleeping arrangements same as before?" asked Nym.

"Yes," said Arlo who was thinking of other things.

Jinbei felt a little bad about taking Arlo's bed for the fourth night in a row said, "I could take the couch if you like."

Arlo tensed a little and smiled, "No you're a guest. It's no big deal." He whistled for Arlong and ran up the road to get the beds ready.

"He's right, Jinbei, you're a guest," said Nym as she watched her brother run up the road with Arlong following him. She noticed a look in Jinbei's eyes and laughed, "Don't worry you're not putting us out." Jinbei left it at that.

He looked up at the full orange moon, "The moon looks great tonight. I haven't seen it above the water like this before."

"I bet it's a sight for someone who hasn't spent a lot of time on land before," commented Nym.

"Yeah, the stars look nice too." Jinbei let out a yawn. The rest of the walk was silent. Inwardly Jinbei was excited to meet Ms. Swete when she came into port tomorrow. From what Nym said she sounded like an interesting person to know, even if she was a human. They made it to the house. Arlong was at the door; Nym bent down and rubbed the dog behind the ears.

Arlo came down the stairs in the shirt he had been wearing and dark grey sweat pants. His eyes still had the same dark look in them. Nym had a feeling that he was looking through them. "He must not be over it. I've hardly ever seen this mad before," she thought to herself.

Arlo shrugged, "Well, I'm heading to bed," he said, "Goodnight guys see you in the morning." Arlo walked into the dark living room. He lay down on the couch and threw a blanket over himself. He was turned toward them showing his fin. His ring gleamed in the low light.

Arlo's sleep wasn't a happy one. His dreams were plagued with past pains. The first dream came from when he was young. He and Drac were being chased by Timbo's gang of bullies. "Come on Drac, just a little farther," he panted. Drac just nodded and pulled out his wooden sword. Then he and Drac tripped over something and Drac's sword went flying. All of a sudden three of the bigger members were on top of him. He turned his head to see that Drac was pinned down by two more members.

Timbo laughed, "Heh, Yellow Eyes, is nothing without his sword," then he gave Drac a punch in the eye. Someone had kicked Drac's sword away from him. Drac didn't cry out, but Arlo could tell that it hurt by the look in his eyes. Timbo then walked over to Arlo. Arlo let out a groan as Timbo started to walk on his chest. Timbo laughed as he crouched down to his face, "I hear your people like water. How do like this, fish?" He took a big breath and started to spit. Before the spit ball fell Arlo closed his eyes and the dream changed.

All of a sudden bright lights hit his eyes. He let out a grunt. He tried to shield his eyes, but his hands were strapped down. He looked to see that he was in his underwear and strapped to a board. Slowly the gear clicked as the board moved upward. Arlo continued to struggle. Then he saw that he was in a circular room. He could the rumbling talk of an audience. There were a lot fish-men looking at him and pointing. He struggled to break free, but the restraints felt tighter.

Then Jinbei came up beside him and pulled out a transponder snail and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you a strange oddity from the surface. A fish-man raised by a human." The audience awed at this statement. "What do you think he is folks? A human in a fish-man suit or something else?"

"He must be a slave," said someone, "Look there's a mark on his shoulder."

"He thinks he's better than us. You must look down on your own kind," another fish-man shouted.

"Freak! Give him a Devil Fruit make him totally human."

Arlo tried to yell, "No I'm a fish-man same as you! I would never look down on my own! I'm unmarked by dragons! It's just a birth mark! I'm a fish-man!" But there was a steel gag over his mouth. He continued to struggle. The audience laughed and jeered at him. Jinbei joined in the laughter and pointing.

Then Arlo sprang awake saying, "I'm a fish-man!" Sweat and tears ran down his face and he was breathing deeply. He put a hand up to wipe the tears away, but they still flowed. He could feel them pool in his hand. He put his hand down and the tears still fell. He could hear the audience still laughing at him. He started to growl.

He got up and headed outside. The tears started to turn to anger. He had the urge to hit something. He headed to a big oak tree where a punching bag was hanging. He started to punch it. "How dare he?" he asked. Then he kept punching the bag saying, "Damn him!" the punches got harder.

Nym was awakened by the jingling of chains and punches. The clock said 1:30 a.m. She put on her glasses and threw on a jacket. She headed out of the house and saw Arlo punching the bag and swearing.

"Damn that demon whale! Damn him to hell! How dare he call me unnatural? I'm a fish-man same as him! Damn him!"

Nym got closer to him and saw that his fists were bloody. "So that's what bothering him. He overheard the first part of our conversation." She couldn't blame him for being angry. Then he realized that it was a bit strange that Timbo had called them to dinner instead of Arlo. Then the punching bag fell off the chain. Arlo was about to jump on top of it when Nym created vines to stop him. "Calm down, Lo! It's dead," she said. He growled and struggled against the vines. She created more. "Lo! Lo! Arlo, stop!" she yelled.

Arlo continued to roar, growl, and struggle. He lifted his head up to face her. Nym was a little taken aback by his eyes. Gone were the happy and playful blue pools. In their place were harsh and angry dark blue almost black slits. He let out a roar. "Damn him! Damn him! Damn that demon whale!" he continued to shout.

Even though he was her brother, it still scarred her to see him like this. This was one of the few times she saw the shark in him. Nym inched closer with an out reached hand. Arlo tried to bite at the hand. She quickly pulled away. He roared, growled, struggled, and swore. "How does Mom do this?" she asked herself.

Truth be told it had been years since she had seen him this angry. The last time this had happened two boys were making fun of her Devil Fruit powers. Arlo went into a rage and started to charge at the two boys, but then Mom jumped up and put him in a bear hug. She also whispered soft words to him and also rubbing his back as he calmed down. She took a deep breath and inched closer again.

"Hey Arlo, it's okay." Arlo was now down on his knees. His eyes were still slits, but now tears started to flow out of them. "Jinbei probably just spoke out of term. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," she said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

He brushed the hand away with his nose and growled. "Yes, he did you heard him, "You know it seems a little unnatural to me." Well I'm sorry that I didn't grow up in an acceptable way for him. I'm sorry that I didn't grow up the way he did. I didn't have someone to say, "No, Arlo, stand this way not that way,"" cried Arlo. "You know remarks like this don't normally get to me." He rubbed his head on his shoulder to wipe the tears away.

Nym rolled her eyes. She knew that was a lie. Every time a human made a remark like that it would hurt, but Arlo seemed to work twice as hard to prove them wrong. She moved next to his side.

"So why now, Nym? Why does this one hurt so much?" he asked. Nym didn't know how to answer, so she let him continue. "Is it because he's a fish-man?"

She shrugged, "Maybe,"

Arlo sighed, "I thought he would just treat me as normal. I just thought he wouldn't ask questions and see things as they are."

Nym tried to give the best answer she could think of, "But you are seen that way by Mom, Papa, Drac, Timbo, me, and the village."

"I don't mean just you guys. I mean outside in the world. You've seen the looks. You've heard them. Asking if I'm your slave and not your brother. Only seeing the shark and not the man."

Nym lessened the grip of the vines. She remembered the first time someone had actually asked her that. She was utterly shocked that someone would actually say that about her brother. She had gotten so mad that she vine-whipped the person who asked. She laughed and moved closer to him, "You wish you had a choice." He got into a more comfortable position as the vines' grip became weaker. She leaned her head on his arm.

Arlo laughed, "Yeah, I do but I don't. It would be so easy to snap my fingers and say, "Today I'm a saw-shark." Or, "Today I'm a man." For some reason Nym couldn't see Arlo as a full human, to her that would look strange. He continued, "I've been trying to figure out how to be me, but it's hard. I thought if I spent time with someone like me, I would learn something."

"Have you?"

"Yeah, don't talk about a man's family if you don't like it."

Nym turned to face him and happy to see his eyes back to normal, "Actually he wanted to know what Mom was like."

He laughed, "What did you tell him?"

She shrugged, "Mmm, just the basic stuff. How she's kind, helps people, and the only thing that makes her angry is when someone she loves is in danger."

The vines had gone away and Arlo seemed back to normal. He gave a hearty laugh, "Sha, sha, you forgot to say that she has a habit of rushing into things without thinking."

"Nee, nee, she says she doesn't but that's a lie."

"Heh, thanks for talking with me, Nym. I needed that."

"No problem. Are you going to tell Jinbei about this?"

Arlo stretched, "No, he doesn't need to know."

"You're right," she laughed, "Now carry me to bed." She put her arms up in the air.

"Why?"

"Because I'm super tired and it's your fault that I'm out here. Now carry me."

"Fine," he chuckled. He picked her up and they headed for the house. "Love you, Nym," he whispered.

"Love you too, Lo," she whispered back.

What they didn't know was that Jinbei had overheard the whole conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After hearing Arlo's feelings toward the comment he had made before dinner, Jinbei couldn't fall back asleep. Arlo did have a right to be angry with him. He had insulted his family. He probably would have reacted the same way he did. Arlong would have hit him there and then at the dinner table. At least there wouldn't be any guilt right now.

"Why did I say that?" he thought. Was it shock? Maybe. He had heard all his life that humans were weak and heartless creatures. Those people Nym listed were the exception, while Mr. White was the rule. He put his thoughts on hold when the hall way light came on. Arlo's shadow went up on the wall. He moved to the door which was cracked opened a little. He saw Arlo holding a sleeping Nym. In a way this reminded him of Arlong and Sharaly after a bad vision. He went back to bed.

He couldn't sleep. Arlo's mantra against him was playing in his head. He could feel every punch Arlo gave the bag. He wished he was actually there instead of the bag. At least the guilt would go away. He lay down on the bed chasing sleep, but it wouldn't come. He tried to close his eyes, but he heard Arlo yell, "I'm a fish-man same as him!" He just stared up at the ceiling. At 4 a.m. he got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. He just needed to go somewhere different. Arlong, the dog, followed him. He quietly walked down the stairs. He then turned on light in the kitchen and heard Arlo mumble and turn over, "Ten more minutes, Mom."

"That was weird," he thought. Arlong clicked into the kitchen behind him. Jinbei looked into the fridge and found a pitcher of ice tea. He grabbed a glass and poured some and sat down at the table. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. The mantra still ran through his head. How could he explain the reason behind what he had said? Arlong put his head on his lap. "It's just that Arlo and Nym don't understand," he finally said outloud. Arlong whined and looked up at him.

"Our species are just too different." Arlong looked up at him. Jinbei continued to explain, "Did you know that from birth we fish-men are ten times stronger than humans. How can a human know what it's like to be a fish-man? We're just too different." Then he thought about the picture he saw at the store. He then became a little envious of the smiling family in it. He chuckled. "It must have been hard for Ms. Swete and Arlo. You know Arlong it was hard for me too," he said out loud. "Why am I pouring out my feelings to a dog?" he thought. He knew why, because there was no one else to talk to.

The dog looked up at him, "I'm being serious," he rubbed the dog behind the ear, "I'm an orphan like Arlo and Nym." Then he thought about it and sighed, "No, I'm nothing like them. They have a really family." Arlong whined.

"Well, I guess I have one, but not like this. We're more like brothers. We came together because we understood and needed each other to survive." Then he realized something and slammed his hand down on the table. "Damn it we are alike." A wave of guilt rushed over him. Arlong ran out of the kitchen.

"What can I do to say sorry and repay them for their kindness?" He looked around the kitchen.

Then he heard Arlo yell, "Brick Fist!"

After hearing that he got an idea. "Oh, I know I'll make breakfast. I'm a good cook. In fact I'm the third best cook at home," he thought to himself. Jinbei got out of his chair and started to find pots and pans. He was going to recreate yesterday's breakfast.

After getting his feelings out with Nym, Arlo's sleep was quite happy. He was having a good dream. He was in a three man completion with Drac and Timbo. It was the final round and they were up against three diamond armored giants. So far the giants were winning. They were in a corner after calling a time out. They huddled up to discuss a plan. "This isn't working. We need a better plan to take these guys down," said Timbo.

"I know," said Arlo.

Drac was silent with his sword out, "What if we try the Shark Spear?" he suddenly asked.

"It may work, but what if it doesn't?" questioned Timbo. "They're diamond armored, your sword might break." Drac's eyes glared at Timbo. "What! I'm just being realistic. I know you're good, but not that good." Arlo just tuned them out to think. Normally he would defend Drac's swordsmanship, but they needed a plan.

He kept thinking, when suddenly he got an idea, "Fish-Man Karate," he snapped his fingers. Timbo looked at him as if he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. Drac was silent and straight face as usual. "No, guys, I'm serious. I've seen it done before. I think we can beat them if we do it at the same time."

"I don't know," replied Timbo, "It sounds risky."

Drac turned to Arlo and crack a grin, "I think it will work and I trust Arlo's judgement on this."

"Thanks, brother," smiled Arlo.

"Fine," Timbo sighed, "It sounds crazy enough to work." Then he smiled, "Well, Lo, show this Fish-Man Karate."

"Well, it works by using the water in the air and hitting the water in your target," explained Arlo. They put their weapons down and went to the middle of the ring. "All right, guys do as I do," yelled Arlo. The three of them got into wide stances with fists raised high.

Then they took a deep breath and yelled, "Fish-Man Karate Arabesque Brick Fist!" The results were the same as before. The giants didn't know what hit them. Then the crowd erupted chanting "EWS, EWS, EWS!"

The three of them gave a whoop of victory. They were about to accept the trophy when Arlo asked, "Hey, do you guys smell smoke?"

Then Arlo woke up and turned his head toward the kitchen. He saw white smoke coming out of the kitchen. He sprang off the couch wrapped in his blanket and fell to the ground. He got it off and ran into the kitchen with a look of shock on his face. The kitchen was covered in a layer of smoke. He started to fan the smoke away. Once it was a little clear he could see Jinbei at the stove. "Oh, good morning, Arlo," smiled Jinbei, "I thought I would make breakfast today. I just got done making the ham steak and eggs. Now, I'm working on the pancakes and syrup.

Arlo started to get a little sick from the smell. "You don't have to do that, I'm up now. So, I'll finish making breakfast," replied Arlo. He really wanted Jinbei to stop because the ham steak looked burned and there were some shells in the eggs.

"No, I really want to do this. Now go wake up, Nym and tell her that breakfast is about ready," said Jinbei.

Arlo smiled and nodded and went upstairs. He went to the guest room. He was about to knock when the door flew open. Nym ran into him crying, "Lo what are you doing here? The house is on fire! Can't you smell the smoke?" She was shaking as Arlo wrapped his arms around her.

He knew that she had a fear of fire so he softly said, "No, it's not. I thought so too, but Jinbei's just making breakfast."

Nym wiped the tears away and laughed, "Really, how bad does it look?"

He laughed back, "Terrible, I think he wants to repay us." They grimaced.

"Well, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to smile, take a few bites, and then one of us will buy ramen."

"Who's buying?"

Arlo thought about it for a second, "Rock, paper, scissors, and loser buys."

"All right on three," agreed Nym, "One."

"Two."

"Three," they said together. Arlo chose paper. Nym chose scissors. She smiled. Arlo shrugged.

"Remember, Lo, I like spicy pork," she laughed as she went to take a shower.

Arlo laughed and went to his room. He started to make the bed. He noticed that the sheets were hardly used. "I guess he doesn't move much in his sleep," he thought. He knew that personally he moved around like a flopping fish.

After he got the bed made, he heard Nym yell, "I'm out of the shower you can get in."

"Thanks," he went out and headed for the shower. After they had showered and changed clothes, they went down stairs to eat breakfast. Arlo was right the set up looked like a terrible recreation of yesterday. The pancakes were dark brown almost black in color.

"Maybe they're chocolate," thought Nym. They weren't.

Arlo gave a big smile, but inwardly he screamed, "Dear Lord, don't let me die of food poisoning!"

"Good morning, Arlo and Nym please sit down and eat," smiled Jinbei. They joined him around the table. Arlo and Nym grabbed one of everything and started to eat. They exchanged forced smiles to Jinbei. The ham steak was tough. The eggs were crunchy. The pancakes were burned beyond taste. Even the syrup was off.

They couldn't make it through the meal. Arlo stretched, "Well, I'm super full, Nym?"

Nym smiled, "Yep, I couldn't eat another bite. Who's ready to go to the store? Nothing like opening early, but first Lo I forgot my shoes upstairs. Will you give a hand and help me find them?" She gave him a strange look.

At first Arlo was confused then he got the look. He smiled, "Why, yes I would love to help you find them." They got up from the table and smiled.

Jinbei smiled back, "Okay, I'll clean off the table." He got up as well and grabbed the plates. Arlo and Nym went back upstairs to the bathroom. They grabbed toothbrushes and toothpaste to clean out their mouths. They brushed vigorously.

Nym spat into the sink, "I love your cooking, Arlo, please don't let him near the stove again. I don't think I can handle another "Thank You" breakfast." She wiped her mouth.

Then Arlo spat, "I appreciate the gesture, but whoever told Jinbei he could cook is a terrible liar." He wiped his mouth. "Do you need help finding your shoes, for real?"

"No, they're under the table. I just said that so we could get the taste out of our mouths," she gave a devious smile. Arlo laughed and playfully punched her shoulder.

"You're, horrible," he laughed.

"Well, I learned from the best," she punched back.

They headed back downstairs. "Oh, hey, there are my shoes," said Nym as she got to the table. She bent down and put them on. "Ready to go, guys?" she asked once she was done. Arlo whistled for Arlong.

"Yes, let's go," said Jinbei. The four of them left from the back door. The day was another brilliant and sunny one. Jinbei couldn't help, but smile. He started sing "Bink's Brew". The others joined in. Despite breakfast the day was starting off pretty well.

Once they were down the road a little bit, Arlo said, "I'm going to get some more sugar from the market." He gave a wink.

Nym got the meaning of the wink, "Oh good be sure to leave it in the back," she said

"Alright, see you soon," said Arlo as he left for the market. The market was starting to open up. He could smell the fresh meat and produce, which made him hungrier. "I was going to make steak and eggs this morning," he thought to himself, "That would have been super good. I know that Jinbei was trying to say thanks for all we've done for him, but he could have said it in another way." He headed for Phu's ramen stand. His stomach let out a mighty growl. "Calm down," he told himself. He then saw Timbo heading for the ramen stand.

"Morning, Lo, what brings you to Phu's?" he asked as he caught up to Arlo.

"We let Jinbei cook breakfast this morning," answered Arlo "You?"

"Oh, I was just in the mood for ramen. So, he was that bad?" Inwardly Timbo was glad to know that there was a worse cook than him.

Arlo chuckled, "Terrible, he can't cook worth a lick. He was good at cleaning the fish yesterday." They got in line.

"Mmm, actually no he isn't. I didn't want to tell you last night, because you seemed to have a lot on your mind. I found a bone in one of the pieces I got."

Arlo frowned, "Damn sorry about that, Tim."

"Oh, it's no big deal."

Arlo was now at the front of the line. The worker looked new and a little nervous. He had seen her a few times at the store. He was excited to get some good food in his belly.

"Hello, welcome to Phu's Ramen, what can I get for you, sir?" she asked.

"Hi, I'll take a seafood ramen and a spicy pork ramen," replied Arlo. The worker gave a mild look of concern when he mentioned seafood. For some reason some humans thought he was committing an act of cannibalism when ordered fish or any other type of seafood. He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry it's like when you eat pork or beef," he would always explain to the people who asked. Then the worker smiled. At least she didn't ask.

"For here or to go?"

"To go."

"All right, sir that will be a ten berries. Arlo paid the worker. "Your order will be ready in a few minutes," said the worker.

Timbo ordered seafood ramen as well. They sat down at a table and waited. "Do you get tired of explaining your diet to people?" He noticed the worker's look.

Arlo shrugged, "Yes, but as long as they respect me afterward, I'm happy to explain."

Their orders came at the same time. Arlo grabbed the two ramen boxes and put them in a brown paper bag. They left for the store. "So, Jinbei's terrible in the kitchen?" asked Timbo.

"Yes, he even made the syrup taste off," answered Arlo.

Timbo laughed, "Ti-ha, ti-ha. How do you do that?"

"Sha-sha, sha-sha. I don't know, but he found a way. If his cooking skills were equal to his fighting skills than he'd better than me."

"Really?" Timbo was interested. He had wondered what had happen with the pirates yesterday.

"Yeah, his way of fighting was like Drac with sword play." That was the highest compliment Arlo could give someone.

Timbo rolled his eyes, "He's that good?"

"Heck, yeah," grinned Arlo. He recounted to Timbo the details of the fight against the Hornet Pirates. Timbo listened in awe to every detail.

"So, he brought down a hundred men with a single punch?"

"Yeah, the fighting style is called Fish-Man Karate."

"Hmm, I'm surprised you didn't know about it. You're like a walking fish-man expert," said Timbo.

Arlo blushed, "Oh, I don't know about that. There aren't that many books on Fish-men or Fish-man Island. Actually at the library there are only three. One is about mermaids, the second is about the somewhat recent history, and the last one is a book on legends."

"But isn't Fish-man Island pretty new to the government?"

"Yeah, they joined about two hundred years ago, so I guess that's why there aren't that many books on the place. I also learned that they get sunlight from a tree."

Timbo rolled his eyes, "A tree?"

"Yep, they call it Sunlight Tree Eve," answered Arlo.

"Really, it kind of sounds like a strange holiday to me," chuckled Timbo.

"Heh, I thought the same thing too. When I go there someday I want to see it."

"Me too." They arrived at the store and came in through the back door.

"Nym, I'm back with the sugar!" yelled Arlo.


	7. Chapter 7

Nym quickly walked to the back. Arlo and Timbo were around the cooling table. "Don't worry, Jinbei, there's a cheat sheet on the counter," she yelled. She turned to face Arlo and Timbo and took a deep breath, "Holy cow, I'm starving. Did you get my usual?"

Arlo passed the spicy pork container with one hand and opened his own with the other. He grabbed chopsticks and started eating. The three of them ate happily. "So, has it been busy?" he asked between bites.

"Not too bad for a Tuesday," answered Nym between bites. "I think Jinbei's a little nervous, but he should be fine."

"The only problem we should have is if the school house came dow..," chuckled Timbo. Arlo and Nym put one hand over his mouth before the word "down" came out. There was anger in their eyes.

"Don't even joke about that!" warned Arlo.

"You remember the last time the school came down?" hissed Nym. Then Timbo's eyes got really big and he shuddered. They removed their hands.

"You're right, sorry," shrugged Timbo. They went back to eating.

They were about done eating when Hank came in from the back door. "What? I didn't know that today was ramen day. You should have gotten me some," he said. Then he noticed that all three of them were in the back. His eyes changed becoming more cat like, "Is Jinbei up front?" he asked.

"Yes," Nym quickly answered, "but he should be fine." Hank landed a punch on Nym's head. Arlo and Timbo stifled laughs into their ramen. The punch seemed to speak volumes to Nym. "Ouch! Fine I'll go help him!" She got up and left rubbing her head and swearing under her breath. Hank smiled and moved to Nym's seat and moved the container closer.

"Careful, its spicy pork," said Arlo. Hank frowned and pushed it aside. "You know you shouldn't have hit her. We weren't that busy. Jinbei would've been fine for a couple of minutes."

"You're right. To be honest I just wanted her ramen. I'll just bring this up to her and say sorry," replied Hank.

"No, you shouldn't take the ramen to her," said Arlo quickly.

"Why?" Hank asked staring at his grandson with a questioning eye. Timbo was watching the two of them like a stage play, silently eating and staring at both of them.

Arlo sighed, "Because Jinbei was the reason Nym and I were back here. He tried to make breakfast and it was terrible."

Hank landed a punch, "You should tell him."

"Augh," said Arlo, "I'll do it later."

Hank walked to the front of the store to talk to Nym. A few seconds later Nym came back. "That old son of a Mink just wanted to my ramen. I love him to death, but he needs to use his words more and his fists less." She went back to eating her ramen.

Then the rest of them got to work after everything was eaten. Hank and Nym were up front, while Arlo, Timbo, and Jinbei were working in the back. Around five o'clock, the store was ready to close. Everyone was ready for the day to be over. "Why don't we have a barbeque at the base tonight?" asked Nym.

"Sure how long has it been since we've hung out there?" wondered Timbo who was cleaning the windows.

"It's been a year," replied Arlo who was counting the money.

"Really that long?" asked Nym who was locking up the front door.

"Yes, and you know what I think I have some stakes." Arlo put the money away. He wrote down the amount of money they made for the day.

"The base?" asked Jinbei who was sweeping the floor.

"Yeah, we passed it yesterday when we went to the river," replied Arlo who was closing the safe and stretched. Jinbei then remembered the tree house that had the green flag. Maybe he would find out the reason why Arlo had a tear in his eye yesterday.

"Okay," smiled Nym, "Let's meet there in about an hour." The store was closed and the four of them went their separate ways. Arlo and Jinbei went to Arlo's house. Arlong was running ahead of them and happily barking. The birds were happily singing in the trees. Arlo opened the door and went to the kitchen.

Jinbei went upstairs to Arlo's room. On the bed there was another bag of clothes. This bag had a green shirt and a grey shirt, a pair of jeans, khaki and brown shorts. He put on the brown shorts. He had a feeling he might be in the water tonight.

He went down stairs to ask Arlo about the bag of clothes. He met Arlo half way down. "Did you get me another bag of clothes?" he asked.

Arlo looked confused, "No, I just got sugar today. Besides I was with you for most of the day after that. When would I have another chance to sneak off?" Then he shrugged, "Maybe it was Nym. Could you grab some blankets from the hall closet?" He went upstairs to change.

Jinbei nodded and went to the closet. There were a few blankets. The top blanket was strangely made in the Fish-Man Island style. "Why would he have a blanket in this design?" He wondered. It was actually hand woven; most blankets on the island were machine made.

Arlo came down the stairs wearing his Panda Bats tank top and jean shorts. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Jinbei grabbed the blankets, "Yeah, let's go." Arlo went into the kitchen and grabbed the container of stakes. They walked down the road. The sunset was just as brilliant as it was yesterday. This one had more pinks and blues. He still had questions for Arlo, but he was worried that he might react like last night. He started with a simple question, "Why do you have a wolf tattoo?'

Arlo looked down at his tattoo. The tattoo was a red tribal looking wolf's head. He got it on his sixteenth birthday. It always brought a smile to his face. "The wolf is my favorite animal," he answered, "I like that it represents the idea of the pack. It tells me that no matter where I go, I will always have my friends and family beside me. It also teaches me how to treat people."

Jinbei smiled at the answer, "So you really value the idea of friends and family?"

Arlo laughed, "Yeah I do. I personally believe that there is no greater joy in the world than sailing the world with good friends."

Jinbei chuckled, "It sounds a little corny, but you've got a point." Arlo shrugged. They approached the tree house. The flag was still waving happily. There was already a fire going in the stone fire pit. Nym was a small distance away from the fire. "Hey guys," she smiled, "Jinbei did you like the clothes I got you?"

Jinbei smiled, "Yes, thank you, Nym." "There they go again being nice to me I need to repay in another way", he thought to himself.

Timbo came out to the front of the tree house, "Hi, guys! Jinbei welcome to the headquarters of EWS." He leaned on the door frame. Jinbei walked up to the tree house and handed Timbo the blankets. Timbo went inside with the blankets.

"EWS?" Jinbei asked.

Arlo explained, "It stands for Earth, Water, and Sky. It's the name that we gave our crew when we were kids. It's also kind of a generational name."

"So it was started by your families?" Arlo and Timbo laughed.

"Well, I guess you could say it was started by my family," replied Arlo, "Papa started it with his two best friends when he was a kid. Mom did the same. The name just sort of stuck. The three of us in the group do become like brothers."

Jinbei turned to Nym, "Were you part of EWS?"

"No," answered Nym, "I was seen as the kid sister and I had my own friends."

Nym wasn't the third member of the group as he thought, "So who's the third member of your guys' group?"

"Drac," answered Timbo, "But he set off to sea last year, which was actually the last time we met here." He jumped out of the tree house and went to the fire. Arlo put a grill top on the fire pit and placed the steaks on top.

"Why did he go to sea?" as he sat down on one of the logs around the fire.

"He wants to be known as the greatest swordsman in the world and I believe that he can do it," answered Arlo with a grin. He turned the stakes over. They sizzled.

Nym laughed, "That's something you'd expect from a brother."

Arlo chuckled, "What can I say? I'm just a proud friend."

The others grabbed drinks. Timbo grabbed an extra cider and handed it to Arlo. Once the stakes were ready, everyone grabbed knives and plates. They each had two. With full stomachs everyone relaxed. Timbo was the first to break the silence, "What would be the weirdest fish-man to see?"

Arlo sighed, "Not this game again you always win."

Timbo looked a little offended, "I don't win all the time, I just happen to be really creative." Arlo rolled his eyes.

Jinbei was interested to see the combinations they could come up with, "All right, I'll play along. I bet I can beat you," he smiled.

Arlo sighed, "Fine, I'm in."

Nym smiled, "Me too. What's the base line?"

"Jinbei and Lo, of course," answered Timbo, "By the way Jinbei what type of fish-man are you?" Everyone wanted to know, but were a little afraid to ask him.

"Oh, I'm a whale-shark," he answered.

"Oh, man Drac would've liked to meet you," said Timbo.

"He always says a whale shark," chuckled Arlo.

"He might be a bit disappointed," laughed Jinbei.

"Probably so. Okay Nym you start, ladies first," said Timbo.

Nym thought about it for a second, "I think an octopus or a squid would be interesting to meet."

"Oh, come on pick one," said Timbo with a wave of his hand that had the cider in it.

Nym put her cider bottle down and put her hands up, "Okay, okay, gun to my head, I have to say an octopus." The other three just shrugged. "Oh, come on they have extra limbs and they should have suction cups. If that's not weird, I don't know what is. Fine you try."

Arlo took a swig of cider and smiled, "Okay, I've got one, a sea dragon."

Timbo chattered in agreement. "Pretty good, Lo," said Timbo.

Jinbei thought about it, "I agree. I think I saw one in the army. He's a master of camouflage and an excellent shot."

"Neat," said Timbo, "All right my turn. I say an angler fish."

"Oh come on," said Arlo, "you can do better than that."

Jinbei had to agree with Arlo, "I thought you were really creative," he replied sarcastically. He took a swig of his own cider.

Timbo cracked a sly smile, "Well now think about, it's late at night and you're bone tired. Then you hear someone calling you over to a bright light and then, bam! I guarantee you won't be tired after that," he laughed.

"And maybe a few berries shorter," chuckled Arlo. Jinbei and Nym rolled their eyes.

Nym gave a thumb down, "Boo! You could do so much better," she said with a laugh.

"What are you talking about? This is my ace in the hole. Like you two could do any better?" snapped back Timbo.

Arlo took a drink of cider, "Ah, but the game's not won yet, Tim. Jinbei, what's your answer?"

"You're right, Arlo," Jinbei commented. He leaned back on one of the logs making the circle around the fire and took a sip of cider. He started to think. He had seen so many. All of a sudden he was down to two new kids living in the District. One was a cookie cutter shark and the other was a wobbegong shark. In the wobbegong kid won out. "Alright, Timbo, I got one for you. Have you ever heard of a wobbegong shark?"

"A what?" the three of them asked.

Jinbei smiled he had them and the game was his, "It's a type of shark that lives on the bottom of the shallow sea. It's the subspecies of a kid who lives on Fish-Man Island. He's light blue and indigo stripped."

"So, he's good at camouflage?" asked Arlo.

"I assume so, but I'm not sure."

Timbo had never heard of a wobbegong shark had to concede defeat, "Fine Jinbei you win." He lifted his cider up and took a drink.

Arlo and Nym let out a round of applause at Timbo's defeat. To get back for losing, Timbo started to tell them the story of the Ghost Bear. When he got to the end of the story he said, "They say on full moon nights, like tonight, you can still hear him in the woods. He growls and chuffs for his next victim. You're only in danger if you feel him breathing down your neck." All of a sudden Nym and Jinbei could feel something breathing down their necks. They tensed up and were afraid to turn around. They slowly turned around. Then they saw a huge bear.

The bear let out a roar. The two of them jumped into the air and fell to the ground. Then the bear let out a familiar laugh, "Sha-ha-ha, we got you guys good." It was just Arlo in a bear skin. He pulled the head back like a hood.

"Ti-ha ti-ha, you should've seen your faces!" Arlo walked next to Timbo and gave him a high five. He sat down wearing the bear skin like a cloak. He was still laughing.

Nym's shock turned to anger, "You two are the worst! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She walked next to Arlo and punched him on the arm. Then she laughed, "Okay you're right it's pretty funny." Then she went back to her seat.

Jinbei was a little embarrassed, but he laughed it off, "Damn it you got me, "Ghost Bear", I'll have to remember that one." The rest of the evening passed with them teaching Jinbei traditional Green Isle drinking songs. At the end of "The Wild Rover" Nym and Timbo went to bed.

"Night, Lo, Jinbei," they said. They went inside the tree house. Jinbei and Arlo were left alone. Arlo pulled the bear skin closer to him and sighed.

Jinbei was ready to ask more questions to Arlo. He took a deep breath, "Whose Drac?" He didn't know why he asked this. Maybe it was the look in Arlo's eyes when he said the reason his friend went to sea.

Arlo threw a log on the fire. The sparks leapt up into the air as he smiled, "His name is Dracule Mihawk and he's my best friend. No, that's not quite right; he's more like my brother. We've been friends since I was five and he was seven." He laughed, "The only reason we met was because he was tracking me. Strange way to meet a friend, huh?" he asked as the shadow of the flames danced on his face.

"So, he was hunting you?" Jinbei asked interested.

Arlo raised his head and looked a little angry at the question, "No, he just wanted to see what made the tracks. Drac likes things that are a little bit interesting and different. He said my feet were weird. Then I said his eyes were weird. Then we laughed about it. From that moment until last year we were inseparable."

Jinbei started to think about the day Tai had left for his adventure. "I bet the day he left was hard for you?" He knew it was especially hard for Arlong and him when Tai would leave. Arlong would always have tears in his eyes, but he would play it off.

"It was," tears started to swell in his eyes. He took a deep breath and they passed, "I'm happy for him, don't get me wrong, he's a great swordsman. It's still hard, you know. I'll gladly cheer him on from afar. You know that's one of the reasons I want to sail this year, just to see him again," he couldn't believe that he was pouring out his feelings to this stranger he just met five days ago. He had also insulted the way he grew up. However he had been holding in this pain and longing for the past year so he went on, "I know it's a bit silly, but I miss him so much. Sorry that got a little deep."

Jinbei took it all in. This man before him seemed to care deeply for his friends. It seemed to hurt him to be away from a friend, he considered a brother. He seemed to come alive when he talked about these people. He was listening to Arlo tell a story of how his group of the EWS fought against the Ruby Pirates, when Arlong came to the fire out of nowhere. The dog put his head on Arlo's lap. Arlo started to pet the dog's back. "Why is your dog named, Arlong?" Jinbei suddenly asked.

Arlo didn't really know how to answer, "It's always been a name that's stuck with me. I can't remember where I first heard it. I almost called him Burlong, but that name doesn't have the same punch as Arlong. Sometimes at night I…" Did he want to tell this part? No, he would keep the dreams secret. He went on, "Never mind. You know Tiger called me Arlong when he met me. So, who's this Arlong? You seem to know him as well. You were going to say something about it yesterday, well?"

Jinbei took a deep breath. How could he describe Arlong? "Well, he's a good friend of mine. Actually I see him more as little brother." Arlo laughed. He continued, "He's about your age, but I have to say, you seem a little bit more mature."

Arlo shrugged, "I doubt that, you don't know me that well."

"He's been my friend since we met in the District fifteen years ago." Did he want to tell Arlo that he and Arlong were near physical matches of each other? Not right now, he would save that for later. He went on, "He's also extremely loyal to his friends."

Arlo grinned, he was actually glad to hear that there was an actual Arlong. He began to wonder if this was the same Arlong he sometime saw himself as in his dreams.

Jinbei turned to Arlo it was time to ask the big question, "I know you said that you have lived in this village forever but…"

Arlo put a hand up to stop him, "I know what you're going to ask, but I don't have the whole answer. In fact I would like to know for myself. All I know was that I was born on Fish-Man Island, but the journey of how I got here is a blank. I was just an infant when my mom found me. In fact that's the first real memory that I have, just seeing her smiling face." Jinbei look intrigued. Arlo sighed, "My only physical link to Fish-Man Island is a blanket."

"A blanket?" Was it the one he saw in the closet?

"Yeah, it's white the top and bottom sections has three stars. Each point is red or black depending where you look at center design is a black line with red spots on the sides. Sorry, but that's all I know," Arlo answered. He let out a yawn, "Well it's late, and I'm going to bed. Put the fire out when you're ready to go inside. He took off the bear skin and went inside the tree house.

Jinbei grabbed the bear skin. A night chill grabbed him and he wrapped the skin around his body. Inwardly he was disappointed He wanted to know more about Arlo, but he didn't seem to know that much about himself. He had one link to Fish-Man Island, but he didn't know how he came by he just had it. Maybe Ms. Swete would know more.

He put out the fire and went inside the tree house. This place seemed happy. He could see the EWS spending hours planning adventures. He went into a room and saw Arlo and Timbo asleep in hammocks made of vines. He walked next to Arlo and saw that he had a smile on his face. Arlong also had this same smile when he was sleeping. He also saw the blanket. "What does it mean?" he wondered. Then Arlo started to mindlessly reach for something. Jinbei thought it was strange and went to the empty hammock that was waiting for him. He climbed in and used the bear skin as a blanket and fell asleep.

Arlo slept and started to have a dream. He had this particular dream for years. It was twilight and wet. He could feel that he was in the water. Then he was in a basket and he looked up and saw a fish-woman. He could only see her eyes and a mark on her left shoulder. The mark was like his only smaller. He wanted to touch her mark. Then he looked at her eyes. They seemed to be worried about something. He tried to touch the mark again. She was about to put something in the basket with him, but then he rose up in the water. Then the dream changed. In the real world he turned over.


	8. Chapter 8

She walked from the shore barefoot. She sang, "Yo ho, Yo ho, time to ship out Bink's brew!" She was happy to be home. She didn't care who heard her sing. She walked up to the village still singing. She had arrived too late for a welcoming party. "Shame, really I've got some good gifts and stories this time round," she thought to herself, "Ah, well welcomes are more enjoyable in the morning anyway." Her trip to the West Blue had been long and eventful. Her singing slowed to a humming. She sat on a short stone wall. She looked up and saw a shooting star. She closed her eyes and made a wish.

She laughed at herself. Here she was a thirty-eight year old woman still making a wish on shooting stars. Personally she believed that stars were lucky. She had made it a personal symbol for herself. She stretched. Then a strange question came into her head, "Does Arlong make wishes on shooting stars, when he sees one?" She started to think about those blue eyes. They were so similar to Arlo's, except for the pain and sadness. "Did I really see him?" she wondered. She was about half asleep when he entered her room. Her scar on her left shoulder started to pain her. "Storm's coming," she thought to herself.

She rubbed her shoulder to let the pain subside. She still saw those eyes. She thought back to that moment. What could've caused that look in them? She had a feeling about it, but she wasn't sure if that was right. It had been past midnight and low moon light was in her room. She had felt something on her scared shoulder. She looked up and saw them. He also looked a little startled at seeing her own eyes. Her heart went out to the boy. "How close was he to being my son?" she asked herself. "How different would Arlo's life be? My life? His?" Sad to say they had to be left unanswered.

Tears started to fill her eyes. She had meant what she whispered to him, "I'm sorry, Arlong." She had hugged him and said those words. He felt so much like Arlo. What really got her was that he returned her hug. If she had been in that situation she would've pulled away confused. Why is this strange woman saying sorry to me? He also looked like he wanted to say something to her, but the words wouldn't come. He just stared at her for a second and tried to stammer something.

She laughed and got off the wall and walked toward the store. Would Pa be awake? At this time she doubted it. Maybe her kids were? She knew she would be if she was their ages. It would be a great surprise for them, to see her a little earlier than expected. She was about half way to Arlo's house when she got jumped. Whatever it was had her pinned to the ground. She was ready to fight, when her attacker licked her face. "Hello, Arlong," she said to the big dog. The dog got off of her and got into a play stance. She grabbed a stick. "Come on boy, you want the stick?" Arlong got super excited and started to whine. "Alright, boy, go get it," she said as she threw the stick and walked after the dog. She put her hands behind her head and grinned.

She started to think about the unanswered questions. She couldn't help but smile and think about the Swete Shark Brothers of Green Isle. "That has a nice ring to it," she thought to herself. Then she saw those eyes again. The pain was deep, but it was only there for a second after he let go. Maybe there were tears as well. She knew there were in her eyes. He tried to say something again, but words failed him. He also looked at little confused. Then he ran out of her room covering his eyes with his arm.

She wished she could have said more, but he was gone before she was completely awake. She sprang out of bed and ran after him, but he had jumped into the water. "Arlong! Arlong!" she remembered yelling, "Come back! Wait!" But she knew that she was yelling at an empty sea and sky. She slammed her hand on the railing of her ship. "Damn it!"

She blinked back to the present. She grabbed her shoulder again. "This storm is going to be something to behold". She was ready to see happier eyes.

She got to Arlo's house and all the lights were out. "They can't possibly be asleep?" she thought. She let herself in. Arlong went to sleep on a big pillow. She went upstairs. They weren't in their rooms. In fact the whole house was silent. She scratched her head. "Where could they be?" Then it hit her, "Oh, that's wonderful!" She ran downstairs.

She started to remember the last time she was at the tree house. It was about ten months ago, Dracule had been gone for a couple months. Arlo had stormed out of the store angry, well maybe it was more frustrated. She found him sitting on the balcony. His eyes were red. "I thought, I'd find you here," she said as she came on the balcony.

"Well, there are not a lot of places for me to hide," replied Arlo.

She shrugged, "Hmm, maybe, I'm a little surprised you came here. I was sure you were heading for the river or the lagoon. Do you want to talk about it?"

He pulled his knees closer, "No," he murmured.

She sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, you owe me a new cooling table." He nodded and tried to laugh. Then the flood gates broke. His whole body shook from the sobs. His face was buried in his knees. She was surprised that he had held these feelings in for two months. He seemed happy, but then again he could've just been wearing a mask.

She pulled her son closer to her. She let the tears fall. "Why?" he wailed, "Why couldn't I go with him? I thought we were brothers, why did I have to stay behind? Why did Drac want to go alone? I'm strong, I can help him."

She looked him in the eyes, "By doing what? Being on the side lines? Your anger would get in the way. I know how you feel about your friends."

He pulled away. His eyes were almost slits, "I would not get angry!"

"Yes, you would. You are now just thinking about it. What if he lost?" He couldn't answer. She sighed, "My point exactly. Look I know how you feel. I felt the same way when Uncle Sunflower left." He just looked at her.

He started to walk around the balcony, "It's not the same! Sunflower is an admiral, Drac is a pirate. I know he'll come back, but it feels like he died. I just thought we would sail the world together." He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath.

She stayed on the floor watching him move around, "You still have your bound as brothers and that's never going to change."

He leaned on the railing and wiped the tears away, "I know, but it still hurts."

"I know you've been friends for twelve years. Maybe soon you'll have an adventure of your own."

Arlo chuckled, "You think so?"

She laughed back, "I know so." She laughed again and wiped the present tears away. She began to wonder if Dracule was doing well. He seemed determined to become the greatest swords man in the world. "How many men has he defeated now?" she wondered. She missed him too.

She could smell the smoke from a fire. "I wonder if they're playing that fish-man game. I'm going to say a jellyfish. That'll give them nightmares," she laughed again. She got closer to the fire pit and noticed that it was out. "Damn," she said under her breath, "Pa must've worked them too hard." She started to hum "Bink's Brew"; she was ready to talk to people. She went up the ladder and a wave of nostalgia rushed over her. How many years did she spend here herself? A lot, but too few.

"Now which room are they in?" She started to walk around. The first room was empty, but in her mind's eye a scene appeared. She couldn't count how many times she had seen scenes like this. She saw Arlo, Dracule, and Timbo asleep on the floor.

"First one to the boulder wins," said Dracule sleepily then he turned over.

"You're on," said Arlo in the same tone.

"No, fair you guys are too fast. Hey wait up!" mumbled Timbo. She laughed at that. She walked to the second room. A smile began to form on her face. The fire of a lamp flickered in the room. Nymphadora had fallen asleep reading again. She came up to her and stroked her hair. She was so proud of the young woman Nymphadora was becoming. She took off her glasses, "Mmm Mom?" she sleepily asked. She started to get up.

"It's alright go back to sleep," she replied. She grabbed the book. Nymphadora slumped down into a comfortable sleeping position. She put the book and glasses on the small table and blew out the lamp. She then kissed her daughter on the forehead. She moved on to the next room.

Her smile grew bigger. The sounds of sleep filled the room. She moved toward the three hammocks. "Did Dracule come back?" she asked. The answer surprised her as she looked down. "Huh, a whale fish-man. He looks like a demon, a cute demon, but one nonetheless." She laughed, "I see we were both blessed in canine teeth." He grabbed her hand. She could feel the strength in the hold. She sometime took for granted the strength that fish-men had. She moved closer to him and pulled the bear skin closer to him. He took a deep breath and smiled. She smiled back.

She moved to Timbo next. He looked happy his left foot was hanging out of the hammock. She grabbed it and put it back in the hammock. She couldn't help but think of how Timbo and Arlo had leaned on each other after Dracule left for sea. Happy tears fell from her eyes, "God, C.J., you're such a mom." Timbo turned over in sleep. She thought of all her kid's friends as part of the family.

Then she got to the one who let her go on this crazy adventure. He had that old smile on his face. She hadn't seen it in a while, "Hello son," she thought. She grabbed his right hand. She noticed the sores on the knuckles. "Did someone make you angry?" She looked at the first hammock, "Was it you, Demon Whale?"

She wanted to wake them up and ask, but decided against it. "Let them sleep, they'll talk about it in the morning." Under her breath she hummed an old Mink lullaby. She touched his birthmark. Like her, Arlo believed that stars were a lucky symbol. He sleepily moved his head against her hand and lightly laughed. She moved her hand away. Those questions about Arlong still moved around in her head, she didn't know how to answer them. She noticed his fish-man blanket on the floor. She threw it over him. She left the tree house.

On the way down she noticed the open cooler by the fire pit. The only thing left inside were bottles of root beer. She grabbed one and popped the cap. She took a drink and walked back to Arlo's house. She could smell rain in the air. Her shoulder still pained her. She walked back to Arlo's house. Inside she sat down on the black couch in the living room. She took another drink, "Has it been eighteen years?" she asked out loud. She finished the drink and placed it on the coffee table.

She stretched out on the couch. Sleep came to greet her. Her mind was still filled with those questions, but then it began to drift back to her last days as a pirate. "C.J., we're going to the East Blue," announced Krieg.

At the time C.J. was twenty years old. She and Krieg had left for the sea five years before. They had made a name for themselves after stealing a marine ship. So far the life of a pirate had been fun. She was starting to get tired of the way Krieg was leading their crew. "Why? We're on the Grand Line, why go to the kiddy pool?" she asked. Krieg and she had been friends for years; in fact he was part of EWS. "What'll it prove?"

"We're just not strong enough," he replied.

Her anger started to rise, "Who's this "we"? The problem here is you, Donny. Are you mad because my bounty is higher? Besides there's no better way to get stronger than here on the Grand Line."

Krieg waved her off, "We're going to the East Blue, that's my final order as captain!"

"What the hell, Donny, I thought we were co-captains? We make big decisions together when it comes to the crew!" she yelled back.

He stood up to his full height and laughed, "You're nothing but a glorified first mate, Coleen!"

That had done it, her anger snapped in full, "Fine, Krieg, if you feel that way let's fight over the position. Loser leaves the ship. Winner keeps the crew."

"Fine have it your way, we'll fight tonight. No haki or whip for you." He brought out his hand.

She shook it, "Deal, no armor for you." She left his cabin. The crew could tell that the two of them were at odds. No one could tell them to call off the fight. "We have said our peace, now we just need to see who's right," replied C.J. The hour arrived. The two of them came to the deck, "You kept your word." she commented to Krieg. He still had his cape on though.

"Will you keep yours?" he asked.

"Of course, no haki. As for the whip," she untied it from her waist and threw it to the ground. "Let's go!" she yelled. She threw the first punch. The fight lasted for three hours. They both had bruises. C.J. had a black eye. "I will not lose to him," she thought to herself. She made a rush at Krieg and out of nowhere a sharp pain grabbed her side. "Augh," she groaned and fell to the ground.

Krieg stood over her and said, "You said nothing about knives. You lose; the crew and I are going to the East Blue. I'll give you a small boat and provisions. Do with it what you will. You are no longer a member of the Krieg pirates." She could only nod in pain. The rest of the crew went away. He bent down and whispered, "I'm sorry, C.J., but this the only way for me to feel stronger." He walked away.

She got up and grabbed her side and whip. She let out a groan from pain. If she let out a yelp that would only make her look weak in the eyes of the crew. She staggered to her room. She heard someone yell, "Hey, where's that bob cat grin!" She forced a grin and went to pack away her life as a pirate. Thus began the saddest six months of her life.

She made a little money by robbing ships, but this was no way to live. She thought about returning home and taking up Pa's offer of working at the store. One night she was lying on the rail of her small boat, "What am I doing with my life?" She took a sip of the drink in her hand. "Am I just going home with my tail between my legs?" The moon was about out when a shooting star passed over head.

She closed her eyes and thought, "I wish I had more in my life." She took another drink and sighed. She got off the railing. She saw something break the surface. It looked like a barrel or a basket. "Maybe, it's a treasure barrel for the gods," she thought to herself. Then she heard a cry. "That's odd what would a baby be doing out here?" She knew for certain that there wasn't an island anywhere near here. Something in her heart drew her to the barrel basket.

She jumped into the water. The water felt a little warmer than normal in one spot. She reached the basket. She stuck a hand in and something grabbed back. It felt like a vice grip. She winced a little, whatever it was wasn't letting go of her. She managed to reach her boat with one free hand. She got a better grip of the basket and climbed up the boat. The babe inside didn't like the fact that her hand was away and cried out in protest.

She looked down and cracked a true grin, "Well, aren't you cute." Inside was a young fish-babe. It couldn't have been more than five months old. She didn't know that much about fish-men. At the time she had only met one, Aqua Marie, but that was ten years ago. She really hadn't thought about her until that moment. "I wonder how she's doing." It grabbed her thumb again. "Well, I guess we were both a drift in the sea, huh? I know why I'm here, but why you?" The babe just smiled back and let go of her. It wanted to be held. She laughed, "Well, I guess you don't know, hey?"

She picked it up and tickled it under the chin. It tried to bite her. "Well I think the first thing to teach is not to bite people, unless they're biting too," she laughed. The babe let out a laugh. Then it let out a yawn and fell asleep in her arms and cracked a little grin. "Heh, that seals it, I guess your mine." She laughed again.

A clap of thunder woke her up from her sleep. She looked at the clock on the mantle. It was six in the morning. She headed for the kitchen. Arlo was at the stove, "Morning, Mom, did you sleep well?"


	9. Chapter 9

C.J. stretched, "Yeah, well enough for a couch. You?"

"Hmm, yeah I did. Nym makes some nice hammocks."

She cracked her knuckles, "Has it started raining yet?"

Arlo moved to the fridge and bent down, "It's sprinkling a little, but it's coming. Omelet?" He grabbed the ingredients and shut the fridge with a leg.

"Yes, why are you up?

He walked to the stove and cracked a couple of eggs in the skillet. "I wanted to beat the rain and Jinbei for breakfast. Tomatoes and peppers?"

"Yes, who's Jinbei?" she asked as she sat down at the table.

The omelet sizzled, "Oh, he's a whale-shark fish-man. He washed up on shore about a week ago. He says he's on a mission, but that's all I know." He plated the omelet and placed in front of C.J. "Coffee?"

She grabbed the fork and took a bite, "Yeah, a little cream. So why do you want to beat Jinbei breakfast?" He poured the coffee and cream. She put a hand up.

He stopped. "He cooked breakfast yesterday and it was terrible," he answered. He cracked a few eggs.

She took a sip of coffee, "And you haven't told him yet?

Arlo could feel her put on the pressure, "Yeah, I did." It was one of his lying "yeah's". "Well, I uh." She cocked an eyebrow. He turned to the stove to make his own and put his head down, "No, but I will soon I promise.

C.J. put her cup down, "So Jinbei is a whale-shark fish-man? Didn't Dracule say he would like to meet one?"

"Yeah Drac did. Jinbei kind of looks a demon."

C.J. got a picture of the sleeping fish-man she saw last night. She saw the smile he gave. "Well, he's a cute demon." Arlo turned off the stove.

Arlo laughed as he sat down with his own plate, "Shahaha, you're the only person I know who would call a demon cute."

She playfully flicked the saw part of his nose, "I could say the say about you, my little sharky-warky."

He blushed and laughed, "You're my mom, and you have to say that I'm handsome."

She rolled her rolled her eyes and laughed, "Meohoho, speaking of fish-men, have you been having any Arlong dream?" The dog came into the kitchen.

Arlo swallowed before answering, "Not in a while." By which he meant three weeks. "Why?"

"I think, I might've seen the actual Arlong."

Arlo dropped his fork startled and excited. It clattered as it hit the plate. "Really?" He wanted to know more. He didn't know what to ask first.

She shrugged, "Maybe, but I was half asleep at the time."

He sighed, "It's just like Papa and Sabaody all over again. Why would I stow away and not say anything to him for three months?"

"I know but he swears that it was you. Look I'm not sure if I was dreaming or not. Forget I mentioned it."

Arlo couldn't just let it go. They ate a little when he asked, "How did you know it was Arlong and not me?"

She stopped for a second and thought back to that moment, "Maternal instinct and smell. He smelled like sea water and strangely enough sassafras. You on the other hand smell like sea water and pine. So, I just knew."

"Does Arlong look like me?" He felt like the answer was yes for the most part, but he wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, he did except for the eyes and the hair, but like I said I was half asleep." There was another clap of thunder.

Arlo wanted to ask more, "Did you get a chance to talk?"

"No, he was in the water before I was completely awake. Look that's all I know. Can I have some more coffee?"

Arlo got up and poured some, "Sure, did he say anything to you?" He poured another cup for himself. He moved to the table.

She took the cup, "He tried twice. I think they might have been m-words, but I think he was afraid. He covered his eyes and ran out of my room. Let's change the subject." The rain started to fall hard. "Did the store do well, while we were gone? Is Papa back?"

Arlo took a sip of his own coffee, "Papa got back a few nights ago. It's been a good four months. The pirates are coming in droves and the regulars are holding steady. I think last month was the best of the year, so far." Arlo couldn't help but smile. This was the best he had ever done by himself at the store.

"Good, good," she smiled, "Did any pirates get out of hand?"

Arlo took a bite of his omelet to think about his answer, "A few, but it was nothing Timbo and I couldn't handle. A really bad batch came a couple days ago. They wanted to start an empire, how stupid is that? I took down thirty-five member, including the captain. Jinbei was with me and he took down about a hundred."

C.J. was impressed. She took a sip of coffee, "People shouldn't conquer others. A man needs freedom to feel truly alive in the world." She let out a grin and took another bite of her omelet.

Arlo finished his omelet and got up. He went to the sink and washed his plate. He let out a laugh as he moved next to her. He reached down and gave her a hug, "Spoken like a true pirate." She raised a hand to touch his check. Arlo grabbed her hand and stopped for an extra second on her thumb. He smiled, "Glad to have you home, Mom." He let go.

She smiled back, "Glad to be home, Arlo. Oh, if you're going upstairs be sure to bring down three towels. I'll make breakfast for the others."

"You sure?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, just not pancakes. We've had them for two days in a row." He went upstairs to get ready for the day.

C.J. got up and washed off her own plate. "Alright, what to make?" She moved to the fridge. The eggs were already out. She grabbed sausage and strawberries. She cracked the rest of the eggs into the skillet. She placed the sausage in another one. She put the strawberries in a bowl and washed them off. The eggs and sausage sang out in sizzles. She went back to the stove and turned over the eggs and sausage.

Arlo came down the stairs. He was carrying the towels she asked for. "Where do you want these?" With her spatula C.J. pointed to the counter closest to the back door. Arlo placed them there. He saw the bowl of strawberries, "You want me to cut those?"

"Yes, but don't eat them all," replied C.J.

"I make no promises, besides I'm full anyway," he said as he walked to the bowl. He grabbed a knife and started cutting. The rain was still falling hard.

"Where are Nymphodora and the others? The food's almost done," she asked.

Arlo put a really big strawberry in his mouth before answering, "I don't know they were still sleeping when I got up this morning." He swallowed and got back to cutting. At that moment Nym came in the door. She seemed a little wet.

"Wow, heck of a down pour," she said as she put down her vine umbrella. "Morning, Mom, Lo did you guys already eat? She grabbed a towel and wiped off her glasses and arms.

"Yes, we did. This is for you, Timbo, and Jinbei, answered C.J.

"Oh good, as long as it's not pancakes, I'm happy. After Jinbei's yesterday, I'll eat anything else," she replied as she poured some coffee.

"I second that," said Arlo as he placed the bowl of cut strawberries on the table.

"The way you two go on about this meal, it sounds like it was worst you've ever had," said C.J. as she flipped the sausage over.

Arlo didn't say anything and went to set the table.

"It was," said Nym as she poured herself some coffee, "he burned the pancakes to black discs, the eggs had shells, and the ham steak was more like ham leather." She sat at the table and took a sip.

C.J. turned off the stove, "Wow, that bad, huh?" She placed the sausage and eggs on the table.

"Yep," replied Nym as she grabbed a strawberry, "but this looks good."

"Sure does. Where are Timbo and Jinbei?" asked Arlo as he grabbed another strawberry.

Nym started to pile on her plate, "They were behind me, but Jinbei got fascinated by what he called a sky light show. They should be here shortly."

"You mean the lighting?" asked Arlo.

"Yeah," answered Nym as she took a bite of sausage.

C.J. sat down at the table, "I guess it doesn't rain on Fish-Man Island?"

Arlo took another strawberry, "Probably not. What do you expect from a place that gets its sunlight from a tree?" He ate the strawberry.

"Hmm, you're right, I guess," said Nym as she took a sip of coffee. Then she heard the last part, "Wait, they get sunlight from a tree?"

"Yeah, Jinbei told me about it a couple days ago. He says it's called Sunlight Tree Eve. The light comes from the roots of the tree," explained Arlo.

"But it's just the island right? Not the whole sea floor?" asked C.J.

"I guess so, why?"

"I'll tell you when the others get here."

"Was it the reason for your delay on the Red Line?" asked Nym.

"Maybe," replied C.J., "How was Papa's trip to the East Blue?"

"Pretty good," answered Arlo, "He said that the South Blue candies were the best sellers this time around. Also, he said that he ran into Krieg again, but I didn't catch the rest."

Nym picked up the report, "He says that Krieg is calling himself an admiral now. He also has fifteen ships under his command now."

"And let me guess, he's still in the East Blue?" asked C.J.

"Yeah," answered Nym.

"Typical Donny," sighed C.J.

At that moment Timbo and Jinbei came in the kitchen. Both of them were drenched to the bone. Timbo grabbed a towel, "Damnit, Nym, that's the last time I play rock, paper, scissors with you." He dried himself off.

Jinbei grabbed a towel to dry his hair, "Oh, it wasn't that bad was it? Sorry, but I've never seen a sky light show before. Wasn't it interesting though? I've never seen light bend like that before." He wanted to go outside to see another one, but the food smelled too good to leave.

"Oh, sure it was the first two times," complained Timbo as he plied food on his plate, "Like I said it's just lighting. It took us twenty minutes just to get here." He sat down at the table and started eating, "This is really good."

"Thank you, Timbo," said C.J.

Timbo hadn't noticed that Ms. Swete was back suddenly blushed and laughed, Oh, uh, Ms. Swete, you're welcome. Wh-when did you get back?"

"Late last night," she replied, "You should've known better, you stink at games of chance.

"Only against Nym," he took a bite of sausage, "This is tasty."

Jinbei took a bite, "He's right, ma'am, this is really good. My name is Jinbei by the way." She cracked a grin. "She really does look like her picture and also a bob cat," thought Jinbei. He also thought he saw her last night in the treehouse.

"Pleased to finally meet you, Jinbei. My name is Swete D. Jubilee Coleen, but most people call me, C.J. How's your week been on Green Isle?"

"I don't remember the first part, but the second part has been really fun here. I got to see my first orange moon and sky light show. I also swung on a rope swing, that was the best part of the week. I can't wait do more on this island." He took a bite of sausage.

"Meohoho, that's nice to hear," replied C.J. as she poured herself more coffee. Jinbei thought he had heard someone else do her laugh before.

Arlo grabbed another strawberry and tossed it in the air. "You were about to tell us the reason, you were delayed this trip," he said as he caught it.

"You're right," said C.J. She took a sip of coffee, "Well let's I stopped by to see Marineford to see Sunflower. The marines were quite happy to see me as well."

"I thought you only sold to pirates," said Jinbei

"Marines like candy too, besides it's a great market as well," replied C.J.

"How's Uncle Sunflower doing?" asked Arlo as he grabbed another strawberry.

C.J. smacked it out of his hand. It landed in Arlong's open mouth. The dog looked very happy. Arlo got the message and stopped eating. "He's doing quite well. In fact he's up for the promotion of Fleet Admiral. So, we spent a couple days celebrating on my ship. On the first night there I saved the life of a young mermaid." She mentioned the last part off handily.

"What?!" the kids asked.

"What type of mermaid?" asked Arlo.

"How old was she?" asked Nym.

"Why was she so far out?" asked Jinbei.

"Did you really see one?" asked Timbo.

She was a little surprised that Timbo was doubtful of her claim since one of his good friends was a fish-man. "Yes, I did Timbo. Poor thing was more freaked out then both me and Sunflower. She was also fairly banged up from running into some trouble on the sea floor, but she could've been worse. There are so many sea monsters near the Red Line and Calm Belts. As far as type I think she was some type of shark."

"Did she say why she ran away?" asked Nym.

"How did she get over being scared of Sunflower and you?" asked Arlo.

"She wanted to see the world and tell her brother that not all humans are bad. The girl couldn't have been more than six or seven. As far as getting over her fear, I just sort of laughed. I told that her reason was good, but that it was still foolish to run away alone."

Nym laughed, "Nee-nee, she should've brought her brother along, but I guess that defeats the purpose of running away for her."

"Did she get mad at you for laughing?" asked Jinbei.

C.J. reflected back, "No in fact she smiled and said, "Laugh again Mama Mink." So, I did."

"Mama Mink? That's a weird thing for someone to call you, Mom," said Arlo.

"How did she know?" asked Nym.

"That's not something you tell a lot of people, Ms. Swete," stated Timbo.

Jinbei thought he had heard the name "Mama Mink" somewhere before, maybe Arlong or someone else said it once. Could the mermaid be Shyarly? Did Arlong meet, Ms. C.J. already? He listened as C.J. continued, "I don't know. I'm only a quarter Mink on Pa's side of the family. The only Mink features I have are my eyes, teeth, and maybe the pads on my feet. I wonder how she figured it out," she replied.

"What's a Mink?" asked Jinbei.

"Oh, it's like us, but instead of a fish or marine creature it's a mammal. An example could be a bob cat, a wolf, a monkey, or several others," explained Arlo. The he laughed, "Until I was four I believed that I was some type of shark mink."

"That's basically it," agreed C.J., "My grandmother was a lynx mink. My pa, Hank is a half Mink with the traits of a jaguar. I'm a quarter Mink, also a lynx or as I like to think of myself a bob cat." She laughed again, "Meohoho, anyway back to the story. Once she got some energy back, she was very helpful around the ship. She was like my little shadow. A lot of the female marines thought it was really cute."

"She must've been sad when you had to leave," stated Nym.

"Of course she was. She said that this was the most fun she ever had. Also, I don't think the place she lives is very happy. I don't mean her home life, I actually mean the place."

"Why not?" asked Arlo taking a sip of coffee. Jinbei had a feeling of why, but he didn't want to interrupt Ms. C.J.'s story.

"Her brother tries, I guess, but the place's atmosphere is very dark. It's kind of separate from Fish-man. No light seems to reach this place. Outlaws and outcasts seem to live and meet there. Also children see and learn things, they're not meant to learn. It scared me when she told me about it," said C.J.

"What's this place called?" asked Timbo a little scared.

"It's called Fish-Man District," answered C.J.

Both Arlo and Jinbei were sweating. Arlo because the place had reminded him of childhood nightmares. C.J. could see it in his eyes. Jinbei because Ms. C.J. had described the place where he had grown up. He hated to be reminded of it.

"So, they don't, get light from the special tree? Why would anyone want to live there?" asked Nym.

"Because some of them are out laws and outcasts. Also because some of us didn't have a choice," answered Jinbei.


	10. Chapter 10

They turned to look at Jinbei. "What do you mean by us?" asked C.J.

Everyone was looking at him for an answerer. He looked down at his plate and picked at his eggs. He could feel the pressure of their eyes. "I grew up in that place. You're right when you said that children see and learn things they're not meant to learn. I can't tell you how many fights I've seen or been in. I've seen people killed in the streets for petty reasons," he finally answered still looking down. "It's one of the reasons I learned fish-man karate. I needed to protect myself."

Arlo wiped the sweat off his brow. He took a deep breath as he packed the nightmares away. "So it's pretty rough going there, heh?" He wiped the sweat away again. He got up to pour himself more coffee.

"Yes, it was and still is. I don't know how it's going to get better," Jinbei answered. He wanted to change the subject. The others wanted to know more. He looked around the room. His eyes stopped at the clock. It said seven o'clock. "Well, it looks like we're going to be late. Nym, Timbo, and I need to get ready for the day. Hank might be mad that we're not at the store on time," he said quickly.

Arlo, Nym, and Timbo looked at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. They knew that they had a lot of time, before the store opened. C.J. looked at the clock, "Oh, you're right, Jinbei." The other three cocked their heads confused, even Arlong did the same. C.J. understood why he wanted to change the subject. Still she wanted to know more about Fish-Man District because of the nightmares Arlo used to have. Another reason was because Arlong and Shyraly were from there.

Timbo got up and bowed, "Thank you for breakfast, Ms. Swete, I need to run home and change. Looks, like the rain's slowed down." He walked to the back door, "See you at the store." He left.

Nym got up and stretched, "Well, I'm going to take a shower." She went upstairs. Jinbei breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to go farther into explaining the District to the Swetes. He also wondered why Arlo looked so scared. He grabbed one of the red berries and ate it. C.J. and Arlo were still at the table, "Are they going to ask more questions?" he thought to himself. He swallowed and grabbed another red berry.

Arlo wanted to ask more to learn about some of the dreams he had. He figured it was like Jinbei's mission, a subject that couldn't be crossed just yet. "So, where did you learn fish-man karate?" he asked to break the tension. He took a sip of coffee.

Jinbei smiled, "In a dojo on Fish-Man Island. I'm actually a black belt."

Arlo was interested after the fight a couple days ago. "Really, so you're like some type of master? How long did it take you?"

Jinbei thought about it for a moment, "Five years, but right now I'm a level thirty-three black belt."

"So, you're not a master?" asked C.J. as she washed off the skillets.

"Not quite, but I'm close. I started when I was six." He grabbed another red berry.

Arlo took a sip of coffee, "So you got your first level when you were eleven?"

Jinbei's smile grew bigger as he remembered, "Yeah, it was the quickest the dojo had ever seen."

Arlo wanted to one up him, "Heh, when I was eleven I did my first candy run with Drac and Timbo across the island, but it was only for a week."

"I remember that run," laughed C.J. as she sat down at the table, "I was worried that you three would eat everything."

"But we didn't. In fact we made two thousand berries," said Arlo.

"You were so happy making your first major sale, said C.J.

Arlo laughed.

Nym came down the stairs, "Are we talking about our first candy sales? I think Roe and I made twenty-one hundred our first time. She sat down at the table. "Jinbei, you're not ready, yet? You were the one who was worried about making Papa mad."

C.J. put her hands behind her head, "She's right, you should've gone up when she did." She turned to Nym, "Can you give me a hand with the ship?"

"Sure," answered Nym.

"You want to come, Arlo?" asked C.J.

"No, if I don't show up on time Papa really will be mad," answered Arlo.

He was about to get up to leave when Jinbei said, "You're not worried about your mother and sister?" He was still taken about by this lack of worry Arlo seemed to have.

Arlo put his hands behind his head and sighed, "No, I'm not, this is our home port. Also they're big girls they can take care of themselves."

Nym did the same thing, "If you're so worried about us, you can come along."

Jinbei thought it was a little strange that the three of them had put their hands behind their heads. He wanted to prove Arlo wrong about not worrying and answered, "Sure, I'll come along with you two." He went upstairs to get ready for the day.

Arlo got up and went to the back door, "Great, I'll see you at the store." He whistled for Arlong.

He was about out the door when C.J. grabbed his hand. "You thought about it again, didn't you?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yeah," he whispered back, "I haven't thought about it for years. You know I can still see him walking away." He looked a little startled as he let go, "Well, I need to head down. I'll tell Papa you're back. Come on, Long. See you soon." He left.

C.J. went back inside. She poured herself another cup of coffee. Nym wanted to ask her what she and Lo were whispering about, but decided to wait. C.J. took a sip. They could hear the shower. "How long do you think he'll take?" asked Nym.

C.J. sat at the table and answered, "I don't know maybe thirty minutes. I wonder why Jinbei doesn't want to talk about Fish-Man District."

"From what you two said it sounds rough. Why would they have a place separate from the island?" asked Nym.

"Who knows, it seems strange. It's almost like a land of the forgotten," answered C.J.

"What do you mean forgotten?"

C.J. shrugged, "I just thought about it when he said, "Some of us didn't have a choice." She sighed, "Oh, well let's put that on hold. Maybe Jinbei will say more about it later."

They both doubted that. Nym looked up at the celling, "Who would want to forget, people?"

"I don't know. Some people want to be forgotten. Others are seen as small problems that might disappear if they are forgotten," answered C.J. looking up at the celling. "I think Jinbei is the second type of forgotten. It breaks my heart just thinking about someone forgetting about a child." The statement was more directed to Arlong and Shyarly as well as Jinbei. A tear escaped from C.J.'s eye.

Nym felt the same way and was glad to call C.J. her mom. They heard the sound of sandals upstairs. "He must be almost ready," she said as she grabbed her mom's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Probably," answered C.J. as she squeezed back. She put her head down and looked Nym in the eyes. "I take it you and Arlo were excited to meet another fish-man?"

"We were, though that's a bit of an understatement on Arlo's part," laughed Nym.

C.J. laughed back.

Jinbei came down the stairs, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," said C.J. as she finished her coffee. They went outside.

Jinbei was surprised how bright and new the outside looked after the rain and light show. Jinbei stretched, "What a beautiful day."

"I agree," said C.J. as she stretched her toes in the wet grass. "Well, let's head to the beach."

They started to walk down the road. Again like with Arlo, Jinbei had a lot of questions. "So, a mink is like me, but a mammal. I wonder if Arlong knows that. Probably not, but he does know what bobcats are and that is a little strange." Besides the saw-shark, Arlong's favorite animal was the bobcat. He also thought it strange that C.J. called herself a bobcat. He turned to C.J. and asked out loud, "Why do you call yourself a bob cat mink?"

C.J. answered, "Well because I was born with my hair looking like this. Actually my grandmother said that I looked like her, but more human. One major difference between my grandmother and I was the spots in my hair and my freckles and my size. I'm about five feet tall; she was about five feet six inches tall. Also the real animal has shorter ear tuffs than a lynx, but I don't have any ear tuffs."

He could see the black spots in her reddish brown hair. He wasn't sure he saw those this morning, but he did now. She was right about being short. She barely came to his waist. A silly question came into his head, "Do you have a tail?"

"No, my visible mink traits are my eyes, hair, teeth, and maybe my feet. My least known traits are: night vision, sense of smell and hearing, and the ability to jump high," replied C.J.

Jinbei was a little doubtful of the last thing she listed, "How high?"

Nym smiled and answered, "Pretty high. Show him, Mom." Nym always liked to see C.J. really jump. It usually impressed people to see a short woman jump about twice her length. Also she had a plan.

"Okay," said C.J. They were underneath a tree, "Watch this!" She leapt into the air from the ground. She grabbed a branch. Jinbei looked up and saw her feet above his head. She was right about them being padded. "Pretty, cool, huh?" she asked as she looked down.

"Yeah it is," he replied impressed.

Nym walked next to Jinbei and gave a devious smile, "Tickle, her feet," she whispered to him.

"What?" he whispered back.

"You heard, tickle her feet. She loves it."

"Do, what?" asked C.J.

"Nothing," answered Nym to her mom. She turned to Jinbei and her smile grew bigger, "Do it." Jinbei grabbed her right foot.

"What are you doing, Jinbei?" He started to tickle her foot. "No, ho ho, please stop." Her feet started to swing, "Meohoho, I'm going to fall. Stop." She let go of the branch and landed on her feet. "Was this your idea?" she asked Nym.

Nym was doubled over from laughing. "Yes, and it was worth it. Nee nee," she replied between laughs. C.J. punched her on the shoulder. "Yep, still worth it." They both laughed. Jinbei laughed too. They started walking again.

Jinbei was really happy walking with Nym and C.J. It had been a while since he felt this happy. Out of nowhere Jinbei started to think about his mission again. He turned to C.J., "Umm, Ms. C.J. did you run into any fish-men pirates?" he asked out loud.

C.J.'s smile turned neutral, "No, I didn't. I had heard rumors that the White-tips were in the New World. Why?"

Jinbei shrugged, "No reason really, just trying to make conversation."

C.J. wasn't too sure about that, he looked like he wanted to know more. She let it go. "That must be his mission," thought C.J. They arrived at her ship. It was a big merchant ship with two masts and white sails.

Jinbei noticed the two flags. He had seen them at the store. "What do those flags mean?" he asked.

Nym walked next to him and answered, "The top one is the Swete company flag." This flag was the Swete cat with the candy cane and candy apple.

Then C.J. answered, "The bottom one is my personal jolly roger. It tells pirates and marines that it's a candy ship and who owns the ship." The bottom flag was his favorite he saw a couple nights ago. He could see now that the cat was a bobcat. He could tell by the spots and ear tuffs. C.J. took a running leap and was able to clear the side of the ship without touching it.

Jinbei was about to get in the water when he saw Nym do something strange. Nym stood at the edge of the beach next to the ship. He heard her whisper, "Vine-vine lasso." All of a sudden a long green vine came out of Nym's left wrist. It was in the shape of a lasso.

"Is she cursed?" he thought to himself. Nym didn't seem ashamed of her power. She grabbed the vine and threw it over head. It landed on a peg and she gave it a tug. The vine tightened and she swung to the ship without touching the water. She climbed up to the ship. She pulled the vine free of the peg.

Then she whispered, "Vine-vine return." The vine returned to her wrist. Jinbei got into the water and swam down a distance and jumped on to the ship. He looked at Nym, but didn't see any sign of the vine.

The deck looked similar to the pirate's deck. "Jinbei, can you go put the jars from the store room into the wagon?" asked C.J. as she pulled out a very large wagon.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered. He could see that the room was like the candy store, but in miniature. All of the walls were filled with jars of candy. Like when he entered the main store for the first time a few days ago, Jinbei felt like a little kid. He wanted to try everything, but he fought against it. He felt like he needed to ask permission from Ms. C.J. to have a piece of candy.

He filled half of the wagon with the jars by stacking them on top of each other. The other half was filled with C.J.'s clothes and gifts from distant islands. C.J. pulled down a wide wooden plank. Nym and Jinbei guided the wagon down the plank to the shore. Once the wagon was down on the beach, they walked back to the store.

Jinbei pulled the wagon behind him. C.J. and Nym were ahead by a little bit. He was about to ask Ms. C.J. a question about Arlo when six men came out of the woods. "We're mountain bandits, hand over the wagon," said the supposed leader of the group.

"Aren't you a little far out of the mountains to be called mountain bandits? Wouldn't it be better to call yourselves beach bandits?" asked C.J. "As for your demands, no thank you. Now, please get out of our way."

"Perhaps you didn't hear me," said the bandit. This time he pulled out a machete, "Now hand it over." The other bandits pulled out swords and guns.

Jinbei was ready to protect C.J. and Nym and prove Arlo wrong. He was about to walk next to them, when Ms. C.J. put out a hand.

C.J. knew a fight was coming. She turned to Jinbei and said, "Protect the wagon. Nymphadora and I have this under control. Jinbei looked a little confused.

The bandits laughed.

C.J and Nym cracked a couple of grins.


	11. Chapter 11

"Please," laughed the leader, "you're nothing without that saw-nosed freak."

C.J. untied her belt and laughed, "You don't know me that well, boy. I don't need my son to protect me. The belt turned out to be a whip. It had a dark brown wooden end. The top was split into nine heads and was laden with broken brown glass, and sharp blue stones. The whip made a clicking sound as the head hit against each other.

The bandits laughed again and turned to Nym. "What about you little lady?" asked another bandit, "You scared?"

"No," answered Nym.

"Why?" Because you got that big fella over there?" asked a third bandit pointing at Jinbei.

"Vine-vine whip," whispered Nym. Louder she said, "Because my mom and I can take you." Large green vines came out of her wrists. "Vine-vine sever," she whispered again. The holes in her wrists closed as she grabbed on to the end of the vines. All of the bandits, except the leader looked scared.

"Devil Fruit," whispered one under his breath.

"Heh-heh, what are two candy women going to do to us?" asked the leader.

C.J. kept her grin, "Kick your ass. We're much more than a candy store owner and worker. She pulled back her whip, it made another clicking sound. She took a deep breath and swung forward with a great force. The whip let out a crack, "Next crack lands on you," she warned.

The group of bandits advanced forward. The leader let out a laugh, "Go ahead, try and hit me."

C.J.'s grin turned into a short smile "Let me tell you a little bit about myself," she said. She was watched them move closer. The leader let out a thrust with his machete, but somehow it missed her.

The leader showed fear in his eyes, but he wouldn't say it or show it to the group. "Who cares?" he yelled.

"Oh, you should because; I'm going to teach you a lesson about assuming the strength of people base on appearance," replied C.J.

"Heh, whatever." The leader made a signal to his men. Two men were in front of Nym, two were heading to Jinbei and the wagon, and the leader and another man were in front of C.J.

C.J. was ready to strike. "In my youth, I was known the world over as "The Grinning Bobcat". Many a pirate and marine were scared of me and my tails. They came home with scratches and scars. They could never look at cats ever again without thinking about me."

"Here, kitty, kitty," the leader whispered under his breath. He charged forward machete drawn.

C.J. let out a chuckle. She pulled back again and took a deep breath. Jinbei noticed a change in the air. C.J. swung forward and delivered a powerful blow. True to her word the whip landed on the leader's chest.

"Augh," he screamed as the whip ripped shirt and flesh. He charged again and missed once more. C.J. got ready to strike again.

The leader's scream was a signal for the others to attack. The two in front of Nym rushed forward. "What about you?" one of the bandits asked her.

"Well, I'm sixteen, so my story is not completely written. Let me show you who I am with my actions," replied Nym. Then she used one of her vines to disarm both men. They were startled for a second then they came at her with daggers. Their blows also appeared to miss her.

Jinbei got into a fighting stance. He knew that these bandits were different than the pirates he had face a couple days ago. They seemed to give out an air of inexperience. He also had a feeling that Nym and C.J. knew that as well. "He looks slower than saw-nose," said one of the bandits. The other nodded in agreement.

Then Jinbei let out a yell, "Fish-man karate, one hundred shark brick fist!" This was actually one of his weaker moves, but it still sent the talkative bandit flying. He did the same move on the other bandit. With his bandits down, Jinbei went to go help C.J. and Nym. However they were doing just fine without him, so he just stood in amazement. Both women moved quickly. The blows didn't seem to hit them at all. They also didn't seem to be tired. The bandit, besides the leader, seemed really winded.

Nym had her bandits wrapped up in vines. They also had whip marks across their faces. "We yield," they yelled in unison. Nym smiled and watched her mom finish off the leader.

The two other bandits tried to make another run for the wagon. Jinbei yelled, "Fish-man Karate five hundred shark brick fist!" This time the bandits stayed down. He continued to watch C.J.

"It's amazing to watch her fight like this," commented Nym, "Too bad she's not going all out."

"All out?" Jinbei asked.

"Yeah, it's the same with Lo and Papa, you'll know it if their eyes become dark slits. But it's been years since she's shown that type of anger. It's kind of funny that we're not related, but we still share the same values. " answered Nym off handily. Then she realized that she was talking out loud, "Whoops, I guess I was thinking out loud." She turned to watch the fight finish up.

Jinbei thought about what Nym just said. He also noticed that Arlong also had this type of mode as well, but he seemed to show it a lot more readily than what Nym commented on. She was right of course; C.J. seemed to keep her cool as she dealt blows to the bandits in front of her.

"I yield," said the second bandit with his arms up in the air. He had whip marks across his face and chest. He went to the two bandits that Nym had tied up. He cut them free and went to the ones that Jinbei had knocked out.

The leader continued to fight. His chest and face looked like a crudely cut pieces of meat. Blood dripped down around him. He tried to deliver a blow with machete, but they missed her. His blows were starting to get slower and weaker. "Stand still," he yelled.

C.J. didn't seem to hear him. She also kept the energy of her blows on the leader. Her shirt had drops of blood from her whip. The shirt became more crimson as she pulled back to deliver her blows. "Yield, boy!" she yelled as she pulled back for another blow. The blow struck him on the shoulder.

"Augh! Never!" the leader yelled back. C.J. pulled back again for another blow, but the leader fell to the ground. "Fine, I yield," he panted into the ground.

C.J.'s smile disappeared as she bent down to the leader. "Now, who am I?" she asked.

"The Grinning Bobcat," he answered in a pant.

"Damn straight." She turned to the five other bandits, "Take him to the doctor. He'll live. Now go!" They grabbed their leader and ran into the woods.

Jinbei stood there opened mouthed and amazed as they left. He had thought humans weak and cowardly, but in a matter of seconds that had changed. "They fight well, I wonder if Hank is just as strong? Maybe he's the strongest, after Arlo, of course," he thought to himself. He also wanted to see all the Swetes in an all-out fight, he bet they could take out a whole fleet of ships.

C.J. turned to Jinbei and gave a happy grin, "It's not polite to gawk, Jinbei." He closed his mouth quickly. "Hold this," she said as she gave him her whip. It made a clicking sound as he held it. In a strange way he could feel the power in this weapon. C.J. started to unbutton her shirt. Underneath was a white tank top.

"Did you get hit?" asked Nym looking at the shirt.

"No, it's just bandit blood. It's a shame, I really like this shirt," answered C.J. with a laugh. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think one of them nicked me, but I'll live," answered Nym. She walked to the wagon, "Do you have a shovel?"

C.J. placed her top shirt in the wagon and looked around. "No, I don't, but there should be one in the shed by the store." She knew that it would be easier for Nymphadora to burn them, but that wasn't a possibility.

Jinbei was still lost in thought. He was thinking about a fake fight between Arlo, Arlong, Nym, and himself. He wondered who would win that one. His mouth fell open again. Nym walked next to him and asked, "Ready to go?"

Jinbei shook back to reality and handed C.J. her weapon back. "Yes, I am," he answered. He stopped for a second because he noticed something on her left shoulder. It looked like a chunk had been taken out. It was scarred over. It looked like an animal had attacked her. "This had to be the scar that Nym was talking about," he thought to himself. Half of it was covered by the tank top. In a way this scar gave him chills, "No wonder Arlo has a hard time looking at it." His eyes turned toward the ground.

C.J. had noticed him looking at her scar. How she got the scar wasn't a happy story, but it wasn't her story to tell. She shrugged and said, "Great, let's go." She started walking up the road to the store.

Jinbei grabbed the wagon and followed C.J. Nym walked next to him, "You know I thought that the fight was fun, though it probably doesn't hold a candle to the one with the pirates for you," she laughed. "You know, I'm a little jealous about that. Being able to take down a hundred men with a single punch is incredible."

Jinbei wasn't listening. He was looking at Nym's wrists. He wondered if more vines would come out of them or if it was a onetime thing. "Umm, are you cursed?" he asked out loud all of a sudden.

Nym looked a little insulted for a second. "No," she answered quickly. They continued to walk down the road.

Jinbei felt a little embarrassed for asking that question. It was a little hard talking to a human. He tried to save the conversation, "Are you out of vines?" he asked.

"No, there's plenty left."

"Why?"

"It's my Devil Fruit power," she replied.

Jinbei stopped for a second looking confused, "Devil Fruit?" He hadn't heard those words before.

"Yeah, Devil Fruit, to be more accurate the Vine-Vine fruit," answered Nym.

He still looked confused, "So you weren't born with this power?"

"No, I ate this strange looking fruit when I was three. It was originally meant for my birth mother for a special ceremony, but I was curious so I took a bite out of it. The thing about devil fruits is that they have a single use policy. After I ate it the fruit went bad and couldn't be used for the ceremony," explained Nym.

"Did the fruit taste good?" he wondered.

"No, it was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted;" she laughed, "Now I shoot vines out of my wrists."

Jinbei tried to put the story together, "So it was meant for a special ceremony for your birth mother, you ate it, and now you shoot vines out of your wrists." He was starting to get interested in finding one for himself.

Nym shrugged, "Yeah that's basically it, but there are way more fruits than the Vine-Vine."

"What kinds are there?" Jinbei asked excitedly.

C.J., who was listening to the conversation couldn't help but add her two cents. "Oh, there are several kinds of Devil Fruits. Some can turn you into animals."

Nym chimed in, "Others, like mine, can change your body a small bit and give you a super power."

"That's right," said C.J., "And then there is also another batch that can change your whole body into a single element."

The last group really interested Jinbei the most. He kind of had a super power with fish-man karate. He was also a type of animal being a fish-man. "What types of elements are there?" he asked.

"Quite a few," answered Nym, "The last time I was at Marineford, I ran into a guy who was made entirely of ice."

"When I was there on my trip, I saw a vice admiral that was made of light," replied C.J., "Then there was one who was made of magma, charming fellow. I've also heard rumors of a lighting man."

The light elemental fruit sounded really interesting to Jinbei, but there was one he was really interested in learning about. "Is there a water fruit?"

"I doubt it," answered Nym, "That's the only true "cruse" about being a Devil Fruit user.

"What do you mean?" asked Jinbei as he wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead.

"The legend goes that the fruits were created by a sea devil, but no one knows their true origin," answered C.J., "They say that the sea rejects anyone who eats a fruit."

"The part about the sea rejecting you is true," said Nym.

"You can't swim?" asked Jinbei. All of a sudden he didn't want a Devil Fruit.

"Not just swim. I can't move at all, I just sink like a rock. It feels like I don't even have the will to live when, I'm in that state," explained Nym.

"Terrible stuff, huh? Oh and then there are sea prism stones," said C.J.

"I forgot about those," said Nym.

"I've heard about those," said Jinbei, "They have the same energy as the sea, but I haven't actually seen any before."

"Well, these are sea prism stones," said C.J. as she pointed to the blue stones in her whip heads. "They're really gnarly when they get into a Devil Fruit user. They go down pretty quick. We also use them in our ship keels to go across the Calm Belts. The Sea Kings don't notice our ships. They really cut down on trip times."

Jinbei had his fill of Devil Fruits. He knew one thing for sure; he never wanted to eat one. He decided to change the subject. "So that's a pretty deadly weapon you have there, Ms. C.J., what type of whip is it?"

"Oh, thank you, I made it myself," smiled C.J., "It's a cat o' nine tails. You'll never see a weapon like it in the whole world."

Jinbei was about to ask his original questions dealing with Arlo. Even though he had spent about three wakeful days with Arlo and Nym, he had learned little of Arlo. He really wanted to know two things: How did this family come together? Why did he have the name, Arlo? Then Nym said, "Hey, we're here." They had arrived at the store. Hank, Timbo, and Arlo met them outside.

"That seemed to be a long trip," said Hank as came to greet them. He gave C.J. a hug.

"Did you guys run into any trouble?" asked Arlo.

"Just a group of bandits, but it was nothing we couldn't handle," answered C.J., "We'll tell you about it. Give us a hand with the wagon. Leave the jars; I'm going to take them to the school."

"Really? What kind of bandits?" asked Timbo.

"Mountain bandits," answered Jinbei.

"Huh, I guess they weren't that far inland," said Hank.

"Then they were beach bandits? At least that makes more sense," laughed Arlo.

"That's what, I said," C.J. laughed back.

"They might have been new," replied Arlo.

"That makes sense; normally mountain bandits use the woods to their advantage. These guys just started attacking. They also weren't much of a fight," said Nym. Jinbei nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's not completely true, the leader of the group tried. He's lucky, I didn't use my full strength today," said C.J.

"Speaking of the leader, do you think he'll stop?" asked Jinbei.

Arlo laughed as he grabbed a chest of clothes, "I doubt it, but now he has a great wanted poster."

C.J. laughed back, "Yeah, I did scratch him up pretty good. Well let's get this stuff upstairs."


	12. Chapter 12

At around two, Arlo was heading home for lunch. He wondered if Jinbei or Timbo wanted to join him. He went to Jinbei first. Jinbei was moving the jars around in the wagon. "Sorry, Arlo, but I promised to help Ms. C.J. deliver the jars to the school. Also, I've never been to one before, it should be fun," he answered with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess it would be," laughed Arlo. He was glad to see that Jinbei was a little bit more relaxed.

Timbo was busy doing something in the back. "Sorry, Lo, would if I could, but the taffy machine just broke down," he answered.

"Oh, that sucks, need any help Tim?" he asked.

"Nah, I know you can fix this too but, this seems to be a one person job. Rain check on lunch, Lo?"

"Alright, but you pay I paid last time," Arlo answered with a laugh. He left out of the back door. "Come on, Arlong," he said to his dog. Arlong got up and ran after him. "Hey, boy, have you been having a lazy day?" He petted his head.

Arlong just looked up at him tail wagging.

Arlo laughed, "Come on boy, let's go home. I think I'll finish off the strawberries and head to the lagoon. I need a good swim by myself."

He stopped by the shed and saw Nym with a shovel next to a hole. She threw in the vines that she used in the fight against the bandits. "I wonder what the bandits were after." Arlo asked himself. "I'll ask when I get back from lunch." She started to fill up the hole. Underneath her breath she sang an ancient prayer. The singing began to grow louder. Arlo stopped to listen. He didn't know where the words came from or what they meant. He just liked the way that they flowed from Nym.

He also envied her a little. This prayer gave a tie to her birth culture. Like he told Jinbei last night his only cultural connection was his baby blanket. He wondered if the Arlong dreams counted. He doubted it. They were almost like a different type of connection. He believed that culture was more of living history that was taught to a person. By that definition his was a mix of human and mink culture. He knew the recent history of Fish-Man Island, sure, but not the beliefs of his people. A sigh escaped from his lips as Nym finished her prayer.

Nym turned to face him, "Hey, I didn't notice you two were here."

Arlo was confused. "Two?" he thought to himself. He turned his head and saw Papa. He was crying a bit. "Hey, Papa, did you forget to tell me something?" he asked.

Hank wiped his eyes on his arm and took a breath, "Yeah I did, both of you actually, but first you sang that prayer beautifully, Nymie." He smiled.

Nym blushed and looked down at the ground, "Oh, it wasn't that good," she stammered.

Arlo laughed in agreement, "Shahaha, Papa's right, your voice is amazing. He took a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs, "My sister is the best singer in the world! Shahaha!

Nym grew even redder, "Shut up, you stupid backward merman!" she hissed. She walked over to him and punched his tattoo.

"Ouch! I'm just stating the facts," he laughed as he rubbed his sore arm.

"Calm down, Nymie, but Pup does have a point," said Hank. He took a deep breath and was about to yell.

"Stop!" yelled Nym.

That didn't stop him. He cracked a huge smile and whispered to her, "My granddaughter is the best singer in the universe." He laughed, "Nyhahaha!"

"He's right," replied Arlo.

Nym didn't know whether to hit them both or just take the complements. She made a rush toward Hank, but Arlo grabbed them both in a bear hug. Nym continued to struggle against it. "Let go of me!" she said with gritted teeth.

Arlo just hugged a little tighter, "Calm down, Nym, let's play pretty," he laughed.

"Just take our complements, Nymie," laughed Hank.

Nym took a deep breath and chuckled, "Fine, just don't sneak up on me again.

Arlo looked down at her and smiled, "Fine, I'll try." He let them go. "What did you want to tell us?" he asked Hank.

Hank took a deep breath and laughed, "What?" Then he remembered, "Oh, yeah we're going to have a boar hunt tonight."

"Oh, good, it's been a while since we had one," said Arlo.

Nym got excited too, "Oh, this is going to be fun! I wonder if this one is going to be bigger than the one we go last time."

"Maybe, but yeah boar hunt tonight. Don't eat too much this afternoon."

"Sure thing, come on Arlong," said Arlo as he left for lunch. Half way home, he decided to stop at the market. The market was very busy and lively. He suddenly wanted a cold soda. "Maybe I should get twelve packs of cola and root beer," he thought to himself, "That would be good for us after the hunt. I wonder how Jinbei will like it."

He was about to enter the store when someone said, "Hello, Arlo, can you give me a hand with my groceries?"

He sighed, he could do it later. "Sure, Aunt Clara," he answered. He walked over to her. She wasn't really his aunt; it was just a title of respect that the people of town gave her. She was the oldest person in the town at eighty-six. Clara was the retired school teacher. Now she spent her days as the librarian and town historian. She also liked to hear and collect the stories of the townsfolk who traveled off the island. In her opinion, Coleen Jubilee Swete had the best stories to tell.

He heard a group of people laughing. "Heh, heh looks like Aunt Clara landed a whooper!" someone laughed.

Arlo blushed a little and laughed back, "I didn't see any of you rush to help her." That got their goats.

A few of them went to go help, but Aunt Clara refused their offers. "It's okay, I asked for Arlo specifically, but if you want to help I'll remember it for next time," she laughed.

Some of the group got mad. "Damn it, Swete!" someone else yelled.

Arlo laughed again and cracked smile. "Come on Arlong." The dog barked and ran after him.

Arlo followed Aunt Clara back to her house, which was on the beach. The bead curtain clicked as he entered. He placed the groceries on the table. The house smelled of burning sage. He could hear the sounds of waves from the outside. He sat down at the table wondering if Aunt Clara wanted anymore help.

"Tea?" asked Aunt Clara.

"Please," accepted Arlo. She poured him a glass and handed it to him, "Thank you."

She went to a cupboard to get Arlong a stew bone. The dog was thrilled and went to a corner to gnaw on the bone. She also poured herself some tea. Aunt Clara sat down across from Arlo. She took a sip of tea and asked, "So how does it feel not being the biggest thing in the village?"

"Oh, you mean Jinbei?" he asked back.

"So that's his name."

Arlo took a sip to think about his answer. "Yes it is and I don't know it's a little strange for me to physically look up to someone."

Aunt Clara laughed, "I bet. You haven't done that since you were really little. So, I guess he's a fish-man? When you first brought that fellow to the village, I thought he was a sea devil, but he may have been too short. I heard Mr. White ranting about you two down at the pub, a couple days ago."

"Yes, he is a fish-man, a whale shark to be more accurate. Is there anything that old fool isn't ranting about?"

"I guess not." Arlo laughed, "If he were a sea devil, I would asked him about him about Devil Fruits."

Aunt Clara laughed back, "That would've been an interesting thing for us all to learn. I take it your mother and grandfather are back from their trips on the ocean? I'm anxious to hear their stories."

Arlo took another sip of tea. "Yes, ma'am they are. Papa got back a few nights ago, while Mom got back last night. As far as stories go, I think Mom has a real winner. Shahaha," laughed Arlo.

"Oh, what is it?" Aunt Clara asked, "On second thought don't answer that. I want to hear the stories from her. Tell her I want to see her tomorrow."

"Will do," said Arlo. His tea was finished and he was getting ready to leave. He bowed to her, "Thank you for the tea and bone, Aunt Clara."

"No problem, Arlo. Stop by any time. It was nice to talk and hear you laugh."

That stopped him, "Hear me laugh?" he asked.

"Yes, I mean a true laugh. Actually from both you and Timbo, I heard you yesterday. You two have been quite somber this past year. It's understandable really. Like many in this village, I thought you three would conquer the world. But such is fate. Besides you do have the third most unique laugh in the village."

His curious nature got the better of him. "Who are the other two?"

She thought about it for a second, "Well, the second would have to be your mother."

"I believe that, you don't hear a lot of "-hoho" laughs in the world. Who's the first?" He kind of wanted to know.

Aunt Clara cracked a smile, "Well, me of course, heehee," she laughed. Arlo felt a little embarrassed for walking into the joke, but laughed it off. She finished laughing, "Like, I said don't be a stranger."

"Alright and I'll tell Mom you want to see her," laughed Arlo. "Come on, Arlong." They left the house.

He walked to the beach. He made it to the edge of the beach. Arlo was ready for a good swim. He unbutton his shirt, took off his undershirt, and his sandals. "Stay, Arlong." The dog was happily chewing on his bone and heard nothing. Arlo took a running leap into the lagoon.

When he landed in the water he breathed a relaxed sigh. In a way this was his hidden place. No one would or could follow him down this deep. The sun pierced the water with pillars of light. The trees gave the pillars of light a jiggered appearance. The forest was made of pine trees.

When he was younger he thought that a dragon had lived in this under water forest, but he never saw one. His stomach started to growl. He started to scan the water for a quick meal. He saw a school of red snapper. "I'll take down three, which should hold me over until tonight," he thought to himself. He took a cupped hand and let the drops fly. True to his thought, three snappers went down.

He grabbed the snappers as they fell. He stopped for a second at the rock he slammed into when he met Tiger. The teeth had turned green with algae. He cracked a short smile remembering that day. Arlo swam to the biggest tree in the forest. He had to duck his head to avoid a low hanging branch. He leaned against the trunk and took a bite of the first snapper. He could smell the blood around him.

He started to think about what Mom and Jinbei had said at breakfast. "So, the Dark Place has a name? Fish-Man District." He threw away the bones of the first snapper. "What would it be like to grow up in such a place like that?" He felt like he knew the answer. He grabbed a second snapper. No, wonder some of those dreams were scary, but some of the recent ones had been a little happy. He finished the second and grabbed the third. He could almost feel the pain that Jinbei gave in his explanation about growing up in that place. Arlo didn't want to think about Fish-Man District anymore. He threw away the bones of the snapper.

He started to feel a little tired. He stretched against the tree. He looked up at the sun kissed surface and slowly started to fall asleep. His mind started to dream.

It was night time or really dark. He felt really young and small as he looked up at an older fish-man. He couldn't quite make out his face. "Where are we going, Daddy?" he asked. He was very excited.

"Oh, somewhere fun," answered the faceless man, "trust me."

"Farris wheel?" He had heard some older people mention a Farris wheel made of bubbles. The houses by them were starting to look really run down. He could hear people yelling about something. He didn't care about the yelling, he just wanted to see the Farris wheel.

"No, somewhere more fun," replied the faceless man.

That got him even more excited, "R-really? More fun?"

The place started to get darker and his excitement started to wan a tiny bit. He heard a crack of glass bottles. He moved closer to the man and grabbed his hand. "Are we there yet, Daddy?"

"Almost." They kept walking. The yelling from people started to get louder and there was also a lot more of it. He started to grip the man's hand more tightly, but he wouldn't let go of his excitement of the Farris wheel. They stopped at a really big wooden boat. "I'm here," the faceless man said to someone in the boat. Out of the dark of the boat came an old eel fish-woman.

At that moment the excitement of the Farris wheel completely left him. This woman was really old. Her hands were almost claw like as they hung from her arms. She also had one dead looking milky eye. It made his blood run cold. "Daddy, she's really scary," he said as he hugged the faceless man's leg tightly.

"Do you have my money?" the old woman wheezed.

The man nodded and reached down into his left pants' pocket and pulled out a huge stack of berries. The faceless man handed her the money with one hand, while his other hand tore him from his leg. He wouldn't let go without a fight, but he wasn't strong enough. The faceless man pushed him toward the scary old eel woman. "Daddy?" he asked. The faceless man started to leave. "Daddy?" he asked again. The faceless man kept walking.

He tried to run after him, but the old woman put a claw like hand on his shoulder, "Your daddy is going away for a while, stay with me."

He pulled away from the scary woman. "Daddy, don't go!" he started to run, but he couldn't see the faceless man. "Daddy!" he yelled once more.

Arlo quickly woke up, "Don't go!" he yelled as he hit his head on the low hanging branch. "Ouch!" he leaned back and rubbed his head. He was happy to be on the tree instead of at the big boat. He tried to think about other things instead of this dream. He got off the tree and swam up to the surface. Arlong was sleeping on the beach next to his bone. He put on his shirts and shoes. "Come on, Arlong, let's go back to the store."


	13. Chapter 13

He took a deep breath as he walked back toward town. "Damn that faceless bastard," he thought. He took another deep breath. These dreams felt almost felt like memories for some strange reason. He tried to think about other things, but he couldn't. "Why did he walk away? Did he care?" He laughed out loud. "Probably not," he thought to himself. He tried to push the dream away, but it held firm.

Arlo stopped at the general store. Strangely this was the only place in the village that sold soft drinks. He seemed to relax as he entered the store. He grabbed a twelve pack of cola and a twelve pack of root beer. "I don't know why Jinbei likes these," he thought as he looked down at the root beer. "As far as soda goes, cola is better, but whatever." He paid the worker and left. For a second he saw a Gecko flyer advertising a game for tonight. Arlong followed him from the porch of the store.

He started to think about all the Arlong dreams he had over the years. "Why couldn't it have been a pirate hunting dream? Or a coral forest one? At least those are fun. If I get a chance to meet Arlong, I'll ask to use that sword of his," he thought to himself and laughed. Speaking of pirates, he was ready to set sail himself. The last big trip had been to Rouge Town last year. Sure there were day trips, but they were in the small company boat. Or if he felt really daring he would tie a few barrels to himself and swim to the next island alone. This was usually done on short orders and boredom.

"Where should I go?" he thought. He had a few places in mind, but he wasn't sure where he wanted to go. "I'll think about it later after the hunt tonight." He tried to think about the hunt itself. However the dream came back with full force. This dream had been with him since he was about three and a half. Besides today the last time he had this dream was three years ago. Unlike today he didn't know why the dream came to him. "What's the point of thinking about it? It never changes; he still walks away from me. It won't solve anything," he thought, "It's not even me. Or is it us? No, just Arlong. It just sucks." Arlo looked down at his tattoo and remembered the words that Mom always told him on his birthday and strangely enough May 3rd. He still wished that he could do something though. He sighed as the dream left again.

He sat the root beer pack down and bent his hand to get feeling back into it. He took out his watch from his water-proof pouch from his right pants pocket. He noticed that he might be a little late. "Oh, well, it wasn't that busy when I left." He put his watch back and grabbed the pack off of the ground. He started to walk on to the store. He was lost in thought when Arlong started to bark. He saw Mom and Jinbei coming up the road behind him. The wagon was empty. "Hey, how was the school?" he asked as turned around.

"Fine, the staff is happy to have some candy and give some to the kids," answered C.J. as Arlong jumped on top of her.

"Didn't they say that it was going to be used at a special event in a couple days?" asked Jinbei.

"Yeah, I think so as long as the staff doesn't eat it all," laughed C.J.

"At least it's not tomorrow," laughed Arlo, "I don't know what's worst kids on a sugar rush or a sugar crash."

Jinbei laughed, "I say a sugar rush."

C.J. shrugged, "Maybe, but either way they don't pay attention."

"I agree," said Arlo. He put the soda packs in the wagon and turned to Jinbei, "So, how was the school for you?"

Jinbei thought for a second, "Fine. No matter the species, children seem to have a lot of questions for subjects they don't understand."

"Oh I bet did you get a chance to answer them?"

"No, they were heading to class. I heard some of them call me a sea devil. Sam and Bobby tried to correct them, but imaginations ran wild." He laughed, "One of them asked if I knew how to make Devil Fruits."

Arlo laughed, "Do you?"

"No, I just learned about them today."

C.J. noticed the drinks in the wagon. "Boar hunt?" she asked.

Arlo grinned, "Of course, I thought they would be good to have after. Oh, I also saw that the Geckos are playing tonight at eight. I think the hunt should be done by then and we can listen to the game as we get the meal ready."

"Oh, good who are they playing?" asked C.J.

"I think the flyer said the Sabaody Sea Slugs at eight tonigt."

Jinbei knew that the Sabaody Sea Slugs were a soccer team. He then remembered the Green Isle Gecko poster in Arlo's bedroom. "So, these Geckos are your team?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're the greatest soccer team in the Grand Line Federation. Twenty-seven wins, eight ties, and only three losses, in the last regular season" explained Arlo.

"They could've won the Cup last year, if they didn't lose to the Marineford Manatees in the semi-finals. I lost a thousand berries to Sunflower because of that," said C.J. as they started walking down the road. "Speaking of that, do you think they have a chance of winning the Grand Line Cup this year?" she asked.

"I guess, but the season started two weeks ago. So, far it's one-one," answered Arlo.

"So, I guess you two are big fans?" asked Jinbei.

"Actually the whole family are big fans of the Geckos," said Arlo.

"Yeah, we are. It's good to hear that the season just started," said C.J. She changed the subject, "How was lunch?"

"Good, I had some snappers at the lagoon. I also ran into Aunt Clara at the market." He looked at C.J., "She wants to see you tomorrow."

She smiled, "I guess, I'll have to go. One doesn't disobey an order from Aunt Clara without fear of death."

"Definitely, she can't wait to hear your mermaid story." They approached the store and saw a few wagons around it. "Man, I'm late," said Arlo who was thinking about what punishment would befall him for taking a long time for lunch.

"Arlo, Jinbei take the wagon to the back. Man, it's a little busy this afternoon," said C.J. as she left for the store.

"Alright, come on Jinbei," said Arlo. Arlong jumped in the wagon. "Goofy dog," laughed Arlo.

Jinbei laughed as well. "So, is this very busy for the store?" he asked.

"No, if there were a circle of wagons around the store, then we're super busy. I just hope there isn't a backup on taffy orders."

"Why?"

"There was a slight problem with the pulling machine when I left for lunch." He grabbed the packs of soda. They went into the store. They almost ran into Timbo who carrying a huge carte full of fudge. "Sorry, guys, it's crazy in here," said Timbo. He went to a wagon.

Arlo placed the sodas in cooler. The two fish-men moved to the front. Everyone else was moving quickly. "Hey, Pup, can you man the transponder snails?" asked Hank. "Jinbei give Timbo a hand in the back." Jinbei left for the back.

Arlo was a little disappointed in not helping with the big stuff. "Why?" he asked.

"Because you were late," answered Hank.

"Fair enough," sighed Arlo. He left for the snail room. There were four snails that were waking up for their lunch. Arlo got out some snail grass and put it into four bowls and placed them in front of the snails. The snails ate happily. Each snail had the Jolly Rogers of the family. When someone left on a long trip they would take their respected snail along with them.

Arlo barely sat down when the first snail started ringing. He picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, this is Swete Chocolate and Candy, my name is Arlo. How can I help you today?" The rest of the day passed with Arlo answering and filling out orders. The store closed at five. He had a terrible writer's cramp. He stretched his hand to get feeling back into it. "Finally, it's time to prepare for the hunt," he said to himself. The snails were sleeping happily. He got up and placed the order forms in the "Orders In" box. He went up to the front of the store. "Well, next week is going to be very busy," he said.

C.J. was counting the money and didn't look up, "Really, how many orders did you fill out?"

"Forty-five," he answered. He grabbed a broom and started to sweep the floor. "So, what time do you want to meet for the hunt?"

"Six," answered Hank, "Be sure to bring your seasonings and knives for tonight."

"Okay see you soon," said Arlo. Jinbei followed him outside. Arlong ran after the two of them.

"What's this boar hunt you guys were talking about?" he asked as they walked up the road.

"Oh, it's a family thing. We have one about three times a year. That ham steak you burned yesterday was part of the last one," answered Arlo.

Jinbei frowned and looked down at his feet, "Was it that bad?"

Arlo scratched the back of his head. It was time for him to tell the truth. He sighed, "The kitchen was full of smoke, but I can teach you how to be better. In exchange…"

"I teach you fish-man karate?"

Arlo laughed, "Shahaha, no. But you can do that if you want to. No, in exchange you can be my guide when I come to Fish-Man Island. Deal?" He stuck his hand out.

Jinbei took it and answered, "Deal. So, what goes on during these hunts?"

"Well, we hunt a boar," laughed Arlo. "No, to be honest it's broken down into three parts: the hunt, the butchering, and then the meal. During the hunt we normally brake into two teams of three. One team spots the boar from the trees. The second team tracks the boar from the ground. Normally the tree team spots the boar, first. They call out the area through bird whistles. Then the ground team chases and corners the boar."

"Then you kill the boar?"

"Of course, otherwise we can't move on to the other parts. They pretty much explain themselves. Don't they hunt a little on Fish-Man Island?"

"Of course we do," said Jinbei quickly, "but it's nothing this grand."

Arlo wasn't sure if Jinbei was lying, so he let the statement go.

"What team do you think I'll be on?" asked Jinbei to change the subject. "Do you think I would be a good tree tracker?" he tried to joke.

Arlo got the joke, "Oh, yeah that would startle the boar," he laughed.

Jinbei laughed back, "So after you butcher the boar, what are you going to make for the meal, tonight?"

"Well, I think, I'll make the chops tonight and we'll smoke the rest for a couple of days. Then we'll preserve the rest for later."

"Mmm, that sounds good. What type of wood are you going to use for the smoke?" They arrived at the house.

"I don't know, maybe oak, cherry, or apple wood, depends which one we have on hand," answered Arlo as he went into the kitchen. He grabbed his best and sharpest knife set that was wrapped in a buck skin case. Then Arlo grabbed some seasonings to place on the chops. Then he went upstairs to change for the hunt. Lastly he grabbed his Gecko jersey to wear after the hunt. He had been on several hunts before, but everyone felt like the first real one he actually participated in.

Jinbei didn't really know what to do. He decided to go to the living room and finish the first volume of "The Lone Rider." He couldn't get into the comic. He felt a little nervous about the hunt, "What if I mess up?" he asked himself. Arlong went to lie down on a big pillow and fell asleep.

After about fifteen minutes Arlo came into the living room. "Ready to go?" he asked. He was wearing camouflage cargo short and he had a water skin tied to his waist. Jinbei wondered if he used this to create water drops on land. Across his shoulder was a bag carrying his cooking supplies. His right lower pocket held his broken staff.

Jinbei quickly got off the couch. "Yeah, I am," he was excited to go on the hunt.

"Great, let's go!" Arlo whistled, "Come on, Arlong you ready for some boar?" The dog sprang awake and ran out of the door. They arrived quickly at the store.

C.J. was outside waiting for them. She was wearing a black tank top and long cloth shorts. Jinbei could see her scar on her shoulder. He also noticed that she had a burn marks on her lower right leg. She had a grin on her face as she saw them approaching. "Hey Son, Jinbei," she said.

"Hey, Mom where are the others?" asked Arlo looking at her straight in the eye avoiding the scar.

"They're already at the forest. We're coming back here after the hunt to prepare the meal," she told Jinbei. Arlo went inside to set up his cooking station. He also left his jersey on the counter to put on after.

He came outside with his whole staff in hand. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah," said C.J. Jinbei just nodded. The three walked to the forest.

Jinbei felt a breeze move through his hair. He was lost in thought thinking about the hunt and more questions. He felt really nervous about this hunt because he didn't want to look like a fool in front of them.

C.J. and Arlo were talking about the first two Gecko games of the new season. "You said that the season was at one-one?" asked C.J.

"That's right," said Arlo, "They lost the first game at 0-1. They could've gotten a tie if Sanderson hadn't lost focus in that final shot ."

"Shame, Sanderson usually has a good head on his shoulders when it comes to impossible shots."

Jinbei tried to listen to the conversation, but he found it extremely boring. "Which question should I ask next?" he thought to himself. "Maybe asking Arlo his full name would be a good one. Or asking Ms. C.J. how she found Arlo would be another good one. No, I'm going to ask them both about their connection to Arlong. There has to be something there. The two of them are just too similar for there not be a connection." He started fall behind Ms. C.J. and Arlo.

He was so lost in thought that on what to ask that he failed to notice a prime opportunity to have one of these questions answered. Arlo whispered, "I had another Arlong dream that's the reason I was late coming back from lunch today."

C.J. turned to him, "Which one? Was it a pirate hunting dream?" "Was it with me on the ship a few months ago?" she thought to herself.


	14. Chapter 14

Arlo noticed the look of concern on his mom's face. "No, it was the one with the faceless fish-man and the big wooden boat," he answered.

"Oh," she replied. She remembered the first time Arlo had that particular dream. It was fifteen years ago and she was in a dead sleep, when she woken by a horrible cry from Arlo's bedroom. She sprang from her bead and made a mad dash to her son. She saw Arlo sitting bolt upright in bed and clinging tightly to his blanket. His eyes were over flowing and red with tears. She sat down on his bed. "Hey, Bud, what's wrong?" she asked as she pulled him into a hug.

"Are you going to leave me at a big wooden boat?" he asked between sobs.

She looked down at him confused. "A big wooden boat, why?"

"Cause I did something really bad. Faceless daddy did it to me," he answered admits fresh sobs.

"Daddy?" she thought to herself. Arlo, at the time, had never seen a fish-man or merman before. Certainly not one who claimed to be his father, but Arlo really did seem to believe this dream. She brought him closer to her eyes and answered out loud in a whisper, "I would never do that to you, Bud. I love you too much."

"Really?" he asked swallowing his tears looking up at her. She took his blanket with one hand and wiped his tears away.

"Of course," she answered from the bottom of her heart. Then she began the bi-yearly tradition. She hugged him tightly and whispered, "I love you to the bottom of the ocean and to the stars up above. No matter how far you run or what you do, I will always there cheering you on from far away. We may not be blood, but who cares? We are family and nothing breaks that bond that we share. I love you son."

In the present Arlo looked down at her, "What are you thinking about?"

"The first time you had that dream," she answered.

He put his staff behind his neck and wrapped his arms around it. He then looked up at the sky. He sighed as he looked down at her again, "You know, I've had this dream for years, and every time I wake up I still feel like that scared little kid."

"I know, but just remember those words, I always tell you every year."

Then Arlo smiled, "Yeah, they help." He put his staff in one hand and grabbed his mom with the other hand and gave her a hug. C.J. laughed.

Jinbei finally caught up with them. He could see they were talking about something else other than soccer. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Nothing," answered Arlo as he put his mom down. They saw Nym and Timbo at the entrance to the forest. They were leaning against a large tree.

"Ready?" asked Timbo as he grabbed his hammer.

Jinbei, who was the most excited of the three answered, "Yeah this going to interesting."

Suddenly Hank's head appeared in the tree above him. "Great, you're in for a real treat. Nyhahaha," he laughed. Jinbei was a little startled to see Hank up above him.

Having learned a little bit about Minks this morning, he could really see Hank's animalistic side. His canine teeth like C.J.'s were a little longer, but they were hidden by his mouth. They almost made his other teeth look small. He also thought that the silver in his hair formed an almost spot like pattern. "Oh, good, what team am I on?" he asked.

"Oh, you're on the ground team along with Pup and Timbo," answered Hank.

"Alright," yelled Arlo and Timbo as they exchanged high-fives.

"Great," said Jinbei, "I promise to do my best, sir."

C.J. seemed to sense his nervousness, "Don't worry Jinbei, we're not expecting you to kill the boar."

Arlo came up from behind and slapped him on the back, "Yeah, just have fun."

Nym laughed, "Don't take it too seriously, and just relax." She created two fresh vines and climbed up the tree. C.J. followed her up the tree.

"Remember just listen for the whistles," said Hanks as he disappeared back into the tree.

Arlo smiled, "Well, let's go, come on Arlong." He ran into the forest with his dog at his heels.

Jinbei tried to run after them. The trees of the forest were so thick that they blocked most of the daylight. "It's no use we won't be able to find them," said Timbo from behind.

"What?" he asked.

"It's a technique Minks seem to have, I think it's called Light Foot," he answered. He then started to look for something.

"But Arlo is a fish-man; if we were in the water I'd believe it.

Timbo chuckled, "Yeah, but you forget that Lo was raised differently than most fish-men. Don't worry we won't miss out on the hunt."

Jinbei took a breath and decided to listen for the tree teams' whistle. Then he heard a bird cry, "Was that the tree team?"

Timbo was looking down at the ground for tracks, "Hmm, no I think it was a hawk."

"Oh," he said. He decided to follow Timbo's example, but he didn't know what he was looking for. "Speaking of hawks, what's Drac like? I know that Arlo calls him his brother, but what is your opinion of him?" he asked.

Timbo took a few seconds to answer, "Well as a person Drac is really hard to read. He doesn't show his emotions readily. The only thing that gives away his true feelings is his eyes."

"Arlo did mention that he had some strange eyes."

"Oh, they are. They're this piercing yellow color. Anyone who isn't a friend is afraid of them."

"Were you when you first met him?" asked Jinbei forgetting about the tracks.

Timbo chuckled, "No, but then again I wasn't the smartest kid in the world. I told you I was a bully, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but I thought it was just to Arlo," answered Jinbei.

"Well, it was to Drac as well, even though he's two years older than me. Maybe it was because he hung around with Lo."

"But didn't Arlo save your life? Isn't that how you became friends?"

"Yeah, Lo did save my life, but I still had to gain their trust. It was easier with Lo, but Drac took a little longer. Somehow it happened, crazy right? The three of us are close, but with Drac and Lo it's on a different level. When they call each other brother, I believe it. When you see them together there's a connection there that can't really be explained," reflected Timbo.

"Do you know why that is?"

"I have my guesses, but I'm not sure. That's something you might ask, Lo." He looked for more tracks. "Great, there's a nice set here." Then they heard musical bird whistles. "Alright we're on the right track."

"How can you tell?"

"There's some flatten grass here and some uprooted saplings. Also the tree team said so."

"Wait, those bird sounds came from Hank, Nym, and C.J.? They sounded like real birds," said Jinbei. He then saw the signs and the fresh hoof prints. "So, that's the way the teams communicate?" he thought to himself.

"So, how do you make syrup taste off?" asked Timbo as they walked after the tracks.

"Oh, Arlo told you about breakfast yesterday. You know, I didn't think it was that bad. The reason I did it was just to show how grateful I was to them for helping me through my fever." He didn't want to explain the other reason for this gesture to Timbo. It still made him feel bad when he thought about it. "But I'm the third best cook at home, so I thought I would do just fine in the kitchen," stated Jinbei.

"Out of?" Timbo asked

Jinbei looked for more boar signs, "Three," he answered.

Timbo gave a deep laugh, "Damn, no wonder you suck in the kitchen. Tihaha!" Jinbei blushed a little as Timbo laughed. He scratched his beard as he got serious. "But seriously, I get it. The whole family is like that, going out of their way to be nice to someone. I'm sure Arlo and Nym know how you feel, but I don't think that food is the best way to show it."

Jinbei laughed, "Yeah, you're probably right. He did offer to teach me how to be a better cook. He also wants me to be a guide whenever he goes to Fish-Man Island."

Timbo gave a quick excited smile, "Oh, really?" Then he heard a sound, "Shh, I think I hear the boar." He rose his hammer up slightly. He made signal to Jinbei to go on the other side. They walked toward the sound. They walked silently up toward the animal. The boar was black haired with a few specks of white in the snout. It was making grunting sounds as it was rooting at the ground for food.

"Oh, wow," whispered Jinbei as they approached. He felt a different silence come over him as he approached the boar. "How will, I bring it down?" he thought to himself.

For a second it felt like there was no one else in forest, but just him and the boar. All of a sudden he stepped a twig and it broke. The boar raised its head off the ground. The boar turned its head and saw the short man and the fish-man. Then it broke out into a run.

"Damn it, come on, Jinbei," yelled Timbo. The two of them ran after the boar.

Jinbei flung off his sandals. He could feel the soft ground under his feet as he ran ahead of Timbo. He felt something almost primal rise up in him. "I've never felt anything like this before. No wonder the Swetes and Timbo find this fun. I can totally bring down this boar," he thought to himself as he caught up to the boar. A smile appeared upon his face as he raised his fist ready to strike, "Fish-Man kar…" All of a sudden a bright ball of light and a few water drops came out of nowhere. The boar fell down dead with a final squeal. "What was that?" he thought as he came to a dead stop.

From out of the thick shadows came Arlo's voice. "That kill was completely mine, Papa." As he came into the light, Jinbei could see that Arlo's hands had water on them. He was taking his staff apart.

Hank came down from a large oak tree. "The hell it was, clearly I brought it down with my staff and electro," said Hank as he pointed his staff at his grandson. Jinbei could see that the staff was smoking for some strange reason.

"Electro?" Jinbei thought to himself.

Arlo put his staff in his pocket, "Are you thick in the head, it was clearly mine." "Did you see how fast my water darts were?" Arlo asked as he pushed his grandfather's staff away.

Hank rolled his eyes. They gave Arlo a look that seemed to say, "Cocky kid."

"What do you think, Timbo?" Arlo asked.

"Sorry, Lo, I was too far behind to tell," he answered.

"Can't you just call it a tie?" said Nym as she stuck her head down from a tree. Hank and Arlo just glared at each other.

"I agree," said Jinbei, "I was right here and I couldn't even tell."

"Great, jobs, guys," said C.J. as she climbed down from the trees. "Arlo, I've got to say that your water drop technique has gotten a lot stronger since the last time. As for you, Pa, can't we agree with Nymphadora and call this a tie?"

They were both still angry. "Fine," they finally both said.

"You really, think it's getting better?" asked Arlo.

"Definitely, I could barely see them when they left your hand," she laughed. "Nym and I will clean the hairs off the boar."

"I'll set the table and grab the radio snail for the game tonight," said Timbo.

"I'll give Timbo a hand and grab those drinks that Arlo bought today," said Jinbei.

"Well, I guess that leaves the butchering to us," laughed Arlo. He tossed the dead boar over his shoulder. The whole group walked home to the store.

"So how did you like the hunt, Jinbei?" Nym asked.

"You guys were right, it was really fun. If I was a second faster, I could've brought down the boar myself," he answered with a smile.

"Hmm, probably, but you have to get up pretty early to pull the wool over my eyes," laughed Hank.

They arrived at the store as sun finished setting. Everyone ran to get dinner ready. Jinbei followed Timbo upstairs to find the radio snail for the game. He saw the snail asleep on the coffee table in the den. Jinbei grabbed the snail and left the room. This snail had a green and black soccer ball pattern on its shell with the letters GIG in white. The snail itself seemed to know that a game was about to happen, because it had a smile on its face as it slept.

"Ready to go down?" asked Timbo whose hands were full of plates, a table cloth, and silverware.

"Yes," he answered. He went downstairs and made a stop at the cooler that held the drinks and grabbed them. The two of them could smell the food cooking as the came out the door. They went to the table to get it ready for dinner.

They saw Arlo at the grill cooking the pork chops. "Mmm, that smells good, Arlo," said C.J. as she appeared behind him.

"Yeah, they do. I'm using an apple dry rub that I got a few months ago. I can't wait to bite into them. He took a look at his watch. "Hey, Tim, can you turn on the snail? The game's about to start." He turned over some of the chops and added more seasoning.

"Sure thing, Lo," he answered. He turned the knobs on the snail's shell. Suddenly the snail came alive.

"Good evening folks, and welcome to a game between the Green Isle Geckos and your Sabaody Sea Slugs!" yelled the announcer through the snail.

"Alright," said Nym as she sat down at the table, "I'm ready for a great game."

"Heck yeah!" said Arlo as he turned over the rest of the chops, "I've got my lucky jersey on, so they're bound to win." Hank and C.J. came to the table with the other dishes.

Everyone sat at the table listening to the game. So far it was tied at zero. Then Arlo came to the table with the pork chops. He sat between Timbo and Jinbei. "Come on Geckos, get on the board," he said as he sat down.

"Damnit, Masterson, keep your head in the game!" yelled Hank.

Then everyone added food to their plates and ate. Timbo turned to Arlo between bites and asked, "Hey, Lo, you figure out where we're going for our trip?"

Arlo was a little wrapped up in the game, so it took him a few seconds to hear the question. "Hmm, well…"

"Yeah, where are we going?" asked Nym.

"Wait, what do you mean by "we"?" asked Arlo as he looked at Nym who was across the table from him.

"Well, there's no way, I'm staying home while you two go on another grand adventure. I'm still a little sore about not getting to go to Rougetown with you last year," answered Nym.

"Fair enough. Well I was thinking about going to Fish-Man Island," answered Arlo.

* * *

Hi guys, R, here I just want to say thanks for reading. So far the story has hit a thousand views! I thought it would be fun to a SBS type thing in the comments. So, please submit any questions you have regarding the characters or story and I'll be sure to answer them for you. Once again thanks for reading Arlo's story. -R


	15. Chapter 15

"Really, why now?" asked C.J. who was listening to the conversation.

Arlo shrugged. "I don't know, but the time feels right," he said, "and I thought that Jinbei could use a ride home."

Jinbei who was lost in thought turned to him, "I appreciate the offer, but I can make it home just fine." He didn't want to feel anymore indebted to Arlo.

Arlo put up a hand to stop him, "No, I want to do this for you. Besides don't you have a lot of questions to ask me?" He cracked a grin.

"Was it that obvious?" Jinbei thought to himself.

"Also, I have a lot for you as well. I just don't know how to word them," he laughed.

Nym smiled back as well, "Also don't you need to complete this mission you're on?"

"Well, yeah," stammered Jinbei, "but I don't know. The nature of it very top secret."

"You'll get more information on the surface then in the water," said Timbo.

"Lastly we made a deal. Let's just say that I'm cashing in my part of it," said Arlo a little sternly.

Jinbei couldn't go back on his word, so he finally conceded, "Alright, any way it will be fun to see different islands."

"That's the ticket," said Hank.

Jinbei was about to say thanks. When the announcer started to yell, "I don't believe it Andrade of the Gecko has stolen the ball from Biles. Andrade passes to Martin. Martin passes to Masterson!"

"So, when are we leaving on this trip?" asked Jinbei.

No one seemed to hear the question. "G-E-C-K-O! Let's go, Geckos, let's go!" the Swetes yelled pounding on the table. The table seemed to shake as they did.

"Let's go Geckos!" yelled Timbo with a mouthful of pork chop.

Jinbei couldn't understand why they were so wrapped up in the game. "It's not even a championship game," he thought to himself. For a second he wanted to cheer for the other team just to get their attention, but decided against. Then he laughed, "They're just like Tia and Arlong at one of my tournaments. Cheering me on no matter how bad I'm doing." He couldn't help, but think back to those times. He could almost hear them cheering his name. He relaxed a little bit more and listened as the snail went on.

"Materson passes it to Sanderson. Sanderson gets ready to take the shot" Everyone including Jinbei held their breath. "There goes the ball and…" Time stood still. "Oh, I don't believe it! Sanderson has scored!" The Swetes and Timbo were up on their feet cheering. Then they sat down laughing.

"Alright," said Arlo as he slapped Jinbei on the back.

"They scored just thirty minutes into the game, amazing!" yelled C.J.

Then a conversation began as the game continued in the background. "So besides the mermaid, what happened?" asked Arlo.

"Hmm," thought C.J., "not really that much. I stopped by a few islands. Saw a few pirate crews."

"Any of our regulars?" asked Nym.

"Not really just one," answered C.J., "I also made some new contracts. Besides the mermaid and the week with Sunflower, nothing exciting happened.

"So all's quite on the Western Front?" asked Arlo with a devious smile.

"Mehoho, you stole my joke," laughed C.J.

Nym rolled her eyes.

Timbo had to put his hand over his mouth to keep his drink inside his mouth. He swallowed and let out a big laugh, "Tihaha! That's a good one, Lo."

"Jokes are like hunting you must pounce on them when you have the chance," said Arlo with a grin.

Nym laughed, "I feel like that was the first lesson you taught us."

C.J. laughed, "I know that we stopped doing this six years ago, but I got you guys some good presents this trip. I'll give them to you after the game."

"Okay," said Nym.

The game went on as the moths circled around the lamps. Once again the warm feeling of happiness rushed over Jinbei. He took a sip of root beer and listened to the game. He liked the feeling of fellowship that the game brought. He was a little sad that he couldn't fully enjoy this game. He just found it too boring. Like the salmon dinner a couple nights ago, he still felt out of place. "At least Arlo isn't distant tonight. Then again I did insult him," he thought to himself. "He and Arlong do have great pride in themselves." He watched as everyone else cheered at the Geckos stealing the ball from the Sea Slugs.

"Go, go," they seemed to chant in a round. Then the ball was stolen again by the Sea Slugs. They groaned as one.

Another chuckle escaped his lips. All of the Swetes turned toward him and glared at him. Timbo just gave him a look.

He blushed, "Sorry, I was just really happy."

The looks changed to embarrassment. "Sorry," chuckled Arlo, "we just get really wrapped up in Geckos games."

"Yeah," said Nym, "it's probably not that fun for you." She smiled.

"I'm trying to get into the game, but…" he said. "Never mind."

"Don't worry we understand," said Arlo.

"No, no!" yelled Hank and C.J. as they jumped up and down listening to the snail.

"Maybe you shouldn't try that hard," laughed Arlo.

"Yeah," Jinbei laughed back. Arlo was back to listening to the game along with the others. Jinbei started to think about the day. "Am, I ready to go back?" he asked himself. He put that question on hold when he heard everyone laugh.

"Shaha!" laughed Arlo.

"Nee nee!" laughed Nym.

"Nyhaha!" laughed Hank.

"Tihaha!" laughed Timbo.

"Meohoho!" laughed C.J.

Jinbei couldn't help, but smile. He thought about the name Mama Mink. "I know, I've heard that name somewhere before. But where?" he thought to himself. Then he remembered, "Oh, yeah it was Arlong!" "How would he react if he met, Ms. C.J.? Would he be happy? Scared? Maybe angry?"

He looked at the family laughing and smiling at the game and exchanging stories. Then he remembered a conversation he and Arlong had a long time ago. It was nine years ago at night in the District. They were sitting on the roof of the house that they lived in with Tiger.

Arlong was sitting on the edge of it looking up at the black water. "You know, Jinbei I wish I could see the stars and moon, right now. You know sometimes I like to go to this spot on a beach and just look up at them. It's really interesting just looking up at them.

He rolled his eyes this sounded exactly like the candy store he kept mentioning. He sat next to his friend and looked up at the blackness. "I wonder what parents are like?" he asked all of a sudden.

Arlong looked at his brother and thought for a second. "Dads are terrible, but moms are nice," he answered. He believed Arlong's statement about fathers, because of what he had been through. However his statement on mothers was a little doubtful.

"I thought you said that you didn't remember your mother," he said.

Arlong put his hands behind his head and lay down on the roof. "Well the answer is yes and no, at least I call her Mom in my dreams. She's really cool. I think she's a quarter Mink, whatever that is. That's why I sometimes call her Mama Mink. She also has a great laugh," he said almost like he was remembering something.

"How does it go?" he asked.

Arlong cracked a smile, "I think it goes, "Meohoho", but I suck at doing it." He just looked at him as he continued. "You know I think those dreams with her and these talks I have with you and Tai are the happiest moments I have."

"So do you think this dream mom loves you?" he didn't know why he asked, but he kind of wanted to know.

Arlong immediately answered, "I know that she loves me, even after I did something terrible to her, at least I think I did."

He was interested. "What did you do?" he remembered asking.

Arlong shrugged, "I don't want to talk about it." They just laid there. Jinbei just left it at that. He assumed that this "mom" was like the forest of sunken tree. They were just a really detailed lie. However Arlong was strangely quite after that statement. He got up and went inside and left Arlong alone with his thoughts.

"Hey Jinbei, you all right?" asked Arlo.

Jinbei turned and gave a smile, "Yeah, I was just thinking about something. How's the game going?"

C.J. frowned with the answer, "Terrible, we're tied at one."

Arlo sighed, "Ah, man, I don't want them to have a shootout."

"I know, those things are usually won by chance," said Timbo.

"Oh, so those aren't favorable out comes?" commented Jinbei.

"No, they're not," answered Arlo.

Unfortunately the game did end in a shootout, but the Gecko won by one. "Man that was a good game," said Arlo.

"Yeah," laughed Nym, "but they're more fun at the stadium. Come to think of it everything is more fun in a large group.

"Yeah, but tickets are really expensive. Now if we scored the concessions deal we could get in for free. I've been trying to work one out with them."

"Yeah, in your dreams, you know they don't change suppliers for ten years," said C.J.

"Yeah, but I try every time it comes up," laughed Hank.

Arlo rolled his eyes, "Hey Mom? Didn't you say you had something special for me and Nym?"

"Oh, yeah you two follow me inside." Arlo grabbed the plates and silverware, while Nym grabbed the table cloth. They followed their mom inside. Once they were inside C.J. turned to her son. "So Fish-Man Island?" she asked.

Arlo smiled as he answered, "Yeah, like I said the time feels right. I was born there and I'm ready to learn where I came from. I know this home, but I'm just ready to go."

C.J. smiled she was glad to see that her son was dead set on this. "Alright, but first will you take your ship to be repaired? There's this yard I want you to go to in Water 7. There someone I really want you to meet there. The name of the yard is Tom's Workers."

"Okay, okay, I don't plan on leaving for a week and a half. Can you tell me that again later?" asked Arlo.

C.J. rolled her eyes, "Alright, I'm just really happy for you, Bud, that's all. Now on to the gifts. They're up in my room." She went upstairs.

"I wonder what she got us?" asked Nym.

"I don't know, I'm just happy to get a present," replied Arlo.

"You know when we were loading the wagon; I think I saw a hat box."

"Do you think it's a fedora? I've always wanted one."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"I don't have to tell you everything," laughed Arlo.

"True," Nym laughed back, "So, a fedora? Very stylish."

"Yeah, I saw one in Rouge Town, but I didn't get it."

"Why?" she asked.

"I didn't need it, so I didn't get. So can you let it go?" he finally asked.

"Of course," laughed Nym.

C.J came down the stairs with two packages in her hand. "Here you go," she said as she approached them. "I couldn't help myself. I went to a very fashionable island and I saw these and thought of you two."

She handed Arlo a big black hat box. "Thank, Mom, I'll open it later," said Arlo with a grin.

She handed Nym a small square box, "Thanks, Mom," she said.

"Well, go ahead and open them. I'm excited to see your reactions," said C.J.

Arlo opened his box. He was a little shocked. Inside was a black bowler hat. "Well at least it's a hat," he thought to himself. He took a deep breath and kept his grin. "Thanks, Mom, I love it," he said quickly. He didn't want to say what he really felt.

"I thought it looked like you," laughed C.J.

"Yeah, I'll wear it soon." He was about to give away his true feelings.

Nym opened her box and inside was a beautiful cloth scarf. It was a lovely off white color. "Wow, Mom! This is really lovely," said Nym.

C.J. was glad to hear that. Her smile grew bigger, "Glad to hear that you two like them so well." The clock started to chime eleven. C.J. gave a laugh, "Well, I guess it's time for bed. That sure was a great game."

"Yeah, it is. Well, I guess we have busy days tomorrow. Don't worry I'll wear this hat soon," yawned Arlo.

"Yeah," said C.J. She walked up to him and gave him a hug.

Arlo put the chat box down and picked his mom up for a proper hug. "Night, Mom," he said in the embrace.

"See you tomorrow," she said.

Arlo put her down and grabbed the hat box, "Night, Nym," he said as he left the store.

"Night, Lo, see you in the morning," replied Nym.

Jinbei was about to fall asleep. "Ready to go?" asked Arlo as he grabbed a lantern.

He shook himself awake as Arlo whistled for Arlong. "Yes, I am. That was fun game."

"Yeah it was," laughed Arlo as he lit the lantern.

"Uh, listen can I sleep in the guest bedroom tonight?" asked Jinbei.

"Sure, but my bed's bigger," answered Arlo. He shrugged it off. "Let's stop by the base, I forgot something important there."

Jinbei looked down at his feet and realized that his sandals were gone. "Let's stop by the forest too, I left my sandals there," he said.

"Okay let's go to the forest first," said Arlo, "Come on Long."

* * *

Hi folks, R here I said that I would answer questions here, but I have decided to move that to the One Piece Aminos app. You can also read some of my blogs there. You can find me under this account name.

Thanks for reading, R


	16. Chapter 16

Timbo was getting ready to leave also. "Man that game was great! Well I better head home. Night Lo, Jinbei, see you guys in the morning," he said.

"Night, Tim," replied Arlo.

"Good night, Timbo," said Jinbei. They started to walk toward the forest.

"So, how did you like the hunt?" asked Arlo.

"It was fine," answered Jinbei. Then he thought about it, "Actually it was really fun. I got so caught up that I lost my sandals."

"Heh, no wonder we're going back. So you had fun?" laughed Arlo.

"Yes, but I also felt something, it was almost primal."

"Oh yeah? I've never thought of it like that before."

"Really? It seems pretty accurate to me How do you see it?"

Arlo thought for a second. Boar hunts had always been a part of life. He then thought back to the feeling he always had since his first hunt at seven. "It feels like tradition," he answered, "My family has done it for years. In a way it strengthens our bound." He chuckled. They made it to the entrance of the forest. "Do you remember where you lost them?" he asked. Arlong ran ahead of them. Happily barking into the night.

Jinbei thought for a second, "It was by a small broken tree."

"Anything more specific?" asked Arlo as they walked farther into the forest.

Jinbei shrugged, because he didn't really remember exactly where they were. "Let's walk I'll probably remember soon." As they walked, he could feel the dewy ground under his feet. "But yes, the hunt was fun. Those pork chops you grilled were good. In fact everything you've made has been really good."

Arlo turned to him, "Oh thanks, I really like cooking."

"Yes, it's the best I've ever had," laughed Jinbei.

"Well thanks again," said Arlo as he moved the lantern back and forth looking for the sandals. The moon was up high in the sky. Arlong let out a howl. Arlo could also hear the howls of the wild wolves in the forest. Arlo liked the sound of wolf howls. He stopped for a second to listen. He smiled and howled back.

Jinbei didn't know how to feel. The sounds gave him chills. It felt like he was not alone in the woods. The forests on the surface could be scary and also very foreign. It was strange that Arlo seemed to show no fear, in fact he was howling along with them. He just stared at him. Something about him was just as wild and foreign as the wolves howling around them. Arlo turned to him and smiled, "Sorry, I just like those sounds." They started to walk forward. The trees started to thicken.

Jinbei took a deep breath as they walked. The trees were starting to look a little familiar. The question he had during the game came back to him. "So, when are we leaving for Fish-Man Island?" he asked.

Arlo kept looking forward. "Oh in about a week," he answered.

"Why do you want to go now?"

"Oh, uh, I've been busy. You know helping with the store and stuff," Arlo answered.

Jinbei thought that the answer was a bit too quick. "Well there must be another why you didn't go."

Arlo could think of several other reasons, but he wasn't going to tell the main one. So he gave a minor one. He looked down at the ground, "Also, I don't know any other fish-men that well, besides you and maybe Tiger." Then he laughed, "Shahaha, then again Tiger might be a stretch. I only knew him for a day."

Jinbei laughed too, "Well you've only known me for about four days, so not at all really."

"But that's three more days than Tiger," Arlo laughed again. Jinbei laughed again too. As they walked farther into the forest, Arlo started to think of the main reason of why. He was scared. This wasn't an emotion Arlo really liked to entrain in himself. He started to think back to the last time this fear got a hold of him. It was when the EWS was planning their first big trip, three years ago. "Hey where do you guys want to go?" he remembered asking.

They were in the base sitting around a small table. Timbo lay back before answering, "I don't know, there are so many interesting places in the world, but it's your ship, Lo. So you should decide."

"Oh come on you guys helped me too," answered Arlo.

Timbo took a sip of cola, "Yeah, but you've always wanted a ship of your own."

"Yes," said Drac, "it's your ship, so you should pick its maiden voyage." He took a sip of his own cola.

"Yeah, Drac's right. If that's the case, I think I know where we're going."

Arlo took sip, "Oh and where would that be, Tim?"

"Fish-Man Island," answered Timbo. He finished his cola and let out a sigh, "Well the decision has been made." He got up from the table, "Well, guys, I'm off to bed. See you in the morning." He left for one of the side rooms.

Drac took a sip, "Are we really going to Fish-Man Island?"

Arlo looked down at the table, "No I don't think so."

Drac didn't know what to say, "Why not? We've always talked about going there."

Arlo started to rub his nose. He only did this if he was really nervous about doing something. "Uh, um, well, mmm."

"Come on, brother, out with it."

Finally he took a deep breath and answered, "What if I'm too human?"

Drac actually looked confused, "What?"

Arlo went on, "Or what if I'm too Mink? I only swim in pants and shorts."

"Only because they hinder your movement in the water."

"Then when I get out of the water, I shake myself dry like a dog."

"Okay that's strange, but you only do that because your mom and grandfather do it too."

"Alright and when I get tried I a laugh at every little thing."

Then Drac laughed, "Wahaha, what are you talking about brother? You're still a fish-man, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but still."

"You know you're probably the fish-man that most people will meet. You're thinking too much about this."

"I know, but what if I stick out on Fish-Man Island?"

Drac finished his cola. He let out a sigh and said calmly, "Look, the destination is completely up to you. I'm sure you'll plan something really fun for us to do."

Arlo then finished his cola and got up, "I know, but I just don't think I'm ready to go to Fish-Man Island. Well, I'm going to bed and I'll come up with a decision tomorrow. Night, Drac."

"I think, I lost them around here," said Jinbei.

Arlo blinked back into the present, "You sure?"

"Yeah, this seems about right." There were still old boar tracks. Though it was fresh, the scene started to replay in his mind. "Let's see, I went this way," said Jinbei as he remembered. He kept walking and looking down. Arlo followed behind him with the lantern out stretched. Then they came to the place where the boar had been. "Yes, here they are" He grabbed his sandals and wiped the leaves off of them. He bent down and put them back on. He turned to Arlo and said, "Thanks for your help."

"I didn't do much, I just shaded a little light on the situation," laughed Arlo.

"Yes, but I would have had to wait for the morning to find them," said Jinbei.

"I guess so. Well let's head to the base, I need to get something." He whistled for his dog. Arlong came out of the woods. They turned to leave the woods. The walk was silent as they left the forest.

Then they started to walk toward the base. Jinbei didn't really like the silence. "So what did you leave at the base?" He was a little curious.

"Oh my blanket, at night I just don't like to leave it out of my sight." Jinbei looked at him a little confused. He went on, "Yeah it's a bit strange, but I still like having it near me at night."

"Oh, then I probably shouldn't have brought it down last night," said Jinbei.

He was right, but Arlo didn't feel like bringing it up. Also he shouldn't have put in the hall closet in the first place. "Well you didn't know, but yeah it wasn't a good idea."

"Well I have to say it looks good after eighteen years."

Arlo chuckled, "It looks fine." They continued to walk on. Each of them was thinking of questions to ask the other.

Then Jinbei asked a simple question, "How does Light Foot work?"

The question was a little unexpected for Arlo. He stopped for a second, and then he started to walk again. "Well like Timbo told you it's a Mink technique. It's mostly used for hunting. We don't want the animal or enemy knowing that we're there," laughed Arlo.

Jinbei thought about that. It would be a strange feeling knowing someone was following you, but you couldn't see them. Also it was strange that someone as tall as Arlo could pull it off so well.

Arlo continued to explain, "He was also right in saying that I was raised different from other fish-men." He laughed, "It took years of practice. I think Papa first taught me how to do it when I was three. Though he said that during that first lesson, I was more interested in chasing butterflies than learning."

Jinbei was confused about how he knew that Timbo had said those things. "How did you know we were talking about that?" he asked.

"Oh, I was behind you," Arlo answered nonchalantly.

Now he was surprised, he stopped for a moment. Then he caught to him. "You were behind us?"

"Yeah, until made the comment on how I grew up. I went on ahead because I thought I heard the boar. Heh, turns out it was a false alarm. But I still brought it down anyway, shahaha," laughed Arlo. Then he thought, "Maybe I can get better."

They walked in silence. Now Jinbei had new thoughts to occupy his mind. He didn't know how he felt about Arlo walking behind him during the hunt. Actually it was quite terrifying to think about. "That technique is fascinating. I wonder how well it can work in the water. I don't think he used when he was hunting the salmon. Maybe he did. I wonder if he can teach it to me?" Then he laughed out loud. "I guess we want to learn a lot of things from each other."

"What are you laughing about?" asked Arlo.

"Hmm? Oh nothing, just thinking about Light Foot," answered Jinbei outloud.

"Oh. Hey, we're here," said Arlo. He handed Jinbei the hat box. "Wait here, I'll be back shortly." He climbed up the ladder and entered the base. He walked to the room where he slept last. The hammocks were starting to look brown and dry. He pulled them off the walls and threw them out of the window. After that was done he walked to where he had flung his blanket when he woke up in the morning.

He bent down and grabbed his blanket. He looked down at it and smiled. He could see every tear stain and rip that it had in it. It was a bit faded in places, but it held so many memories. Also it held the faint smell of the sea. That might have been because he always took on those long trips, or something else. He folded it up and walked out of the room. He also stopped at the room where Nym slept and threw out the hammock.

He headed down the ladder. Jinbei was sitting on one of the logs around the fire pit with the hat box on his lap. "Ready to go?" Arlo asked as he climbed down the ladder.

"Yeah," answered Jinbei as he got up from the log. They started to walk to Arlo's house. Arlo started to sing, "Tramps and Hawkers." He felt really happy for some reason. Maybe it was the game, or maybe because he was getting tired. Normally he wouldn't sing out loud if someone was near, because he was a bad singer.

Jinbei liked all these Green Isle songs. He laughed as Arlo sang. "He and Arlong can't sing. But I've got to admit that these songs are fascinating," he thought to himself. He noticed that Arlo had stopped. "You have some unique songs here on Green Isle," he said out loud.

Arlo laughed, "Oh some are from here, but others are from all over the world. I think that the best songs actually come from the West Blue."

"I bet you've been on some amazing trips."

"Yeah, but I feel like the trip to Fish-Man Island is going to take the cake. That's one of the perks of being part of a sailing candy family; you learn so many new things. Also you see some great islands." Arlong ran ahead again braking into the night. They arrived at Arlo's house. Arlong ran inside and fell asleep on his big pillow. Arlo blew out the lantern and placed it on a small table. Jinbei put the hat box on the same table.

They went upstairs to the bed rooms. As they entered the hallway Arlo said, "Last chance, you can have my bed."

Jinbei was firm in his answer, "No, I really want the guest bed."

"Okay, night Jinbei, see you in the morning."

"Good night, Arlo." They entered the bedrooms.

Arlo was really happy. "Yes, finally a good night of sleep," he thought to himself. He liked his big black couch. However after sleeping on it for a week it was getting uncomfortable. He threw his blanket on his bed. He took off his camo shorts and changed into a pair of red and black plaid sleeper pants. He turned off the lights. Then he pulled back the sheet and leapt into bed.

He let out a big yawn and scratched his fin. "Hello old friend," he said as he pulled up the sheets. He turned off the small lamp on his nightstand. He let out another as he got into a more comfortable position. He started to think about the game again as he closed his eyes.

He could still hear it replaying. He still heard it as he began to dream. In this dream he was sitting next to Drac. They were listening to the game and talking. They had listened to several games before, but this setting was very dream like. It was grove of really big trees that had bubbles coming out of the ground.

Arlo didn't care about the setting, he was just happy to be talking to Drac again. He couldn't really hear what they were saying. Even if it was just a dream he was happy to be talking to his brother again. As he slept in the real world a big smile was on his face.


	17. Chapter 17

He was awakened by the feeling of a cold wet nose on his hand. He stretched and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Morning, Arlong, you hungry, bud?" The dog whined and ran out the door. "Alright, alright I'm coming." Arlo got out of bed and followed his dog out the door.

It felt a little weird that he didn't have to wake up Nym. "Should I wake Jinbei up?" he thought. "Nah, he's pretty good at getting himself up. I'll shower after I feed Long. At least he's not at the stove," he laughed as he entered the kitchen. He poured dog food into a bowl. The dog began to eat. Arlo went back upstairs and went to the bathroom. He drew the water for his shower. He took off his pajamas and walked into the shower.

The sun started to mess with his eyes. He then heard the clicking of Arlong's claws on the floor. Arlo had been right about this bed. This be would have been more comfortable if he was about Timbo's height. He decided it was a fool's dream to get more sleep and got up to take a shower. However the shower was occupied by Arlo who was singing "Bink's Brew". "Maybe I could make breakfast again," he thought. Then he stopped and laughed, "No that's a terrible idea. He went down stairs and sat down on the big black couch. He grabbed the first volume of "The Lone Rider" and started where he left off last time. He had just finished reading when Arlo entered the living room.

"Awesome, you're awake! I was just about to wake you up." Jinbei noticed that he was wearing a Gecko T-shirt and light khaki cargo shorts.

"Yeah I just got up. You know I really liked "The Lone Rider", where is the next volume?" asked Jinbei.

"They're on the book shelf in my room, but don't you want to get ready?"

Jinbei looked at the clock and it said 6:45 a.m., "No, we have plenty of time."

Arlo cocked his head like a confused dog, but then he blinked it off, "Okay well I'm going to make breakfast, want to help?'

"Uhh, no I thought the lessons would start once we set sail next week. I'll just sit here for a bit."

Arlo got up and shrugged, "All right suite yourself." "Maybe his fatigue is catching up with him?" he thought as he entered the kitchen. "We've certainly have been very busy over the past couple of days," he laughed. Arlong came up to him tail wagging. "Hey boy, need to go outside?' he asked petting his head. Arlong ran to the door and back to Arlo with a half crazed smile. "Shahaha! Okay boy." He went to door and opened it. The dog quickly flew out of the door.

Arlo's smile grew bigger as he thought about the upcoming week. He didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. "I'm finally doing," he thought. "Will this trip be a homecoming? Nah, Green Isle is home. I guess this is going to be more of a pilgrimage. Yeah that's a good word for it."

He heard the swoosh of the shower. Arlo walked to the fridge. "I guess I need to get more eggs. Ehh I'll go to the market after the swimming lessons today. I guess it's a toast and strawberry day today." Then he saw a slab of bacon. He grabbed the bacon and strawberries. He grabbed a skillet and turned on the stove. He placed the bacon on the skillet. He put his Fish-Man Island daydreams on hold and focused on cooking

Jinbei came downstairs to the smell of bacon and toast. "Hey, Jinbei, feeling better?"

"A little, but I'm still tried and stiff from last night."

Arlo laughed, "Yeah the game did run a little long last night and remember I did offer you my bed."

"I know, but I just felt bad about taking your bed for a week. I'm sure you liked sleeping in your bed after being away from it for so long."

Arlo turned off the stove and plated the bacon, "Yeah, I did but I really don't mind my couch. Like I said a couple days ago you're a guest."

"Don't tell me that's your Mink upbringing." He then quickly realized his mistake, "Sorry."

Arlo swallowed his anger as he put down the plate of bacon, "No that's just me being a good friend. Anyway sorry breakfast isn't so plentiful today. I really need to go to the market today."

Jinbei smiled and grabbed a piece of bacon, "That's fine." He took a bite, "Is this from the last boar hunt?"

"Yeah, I was on the tree team for that one," answered Arlo as he sat with the plate of toast. He noticed that Jinbei was trying not to laugh. "Shahaha! Yeah it does sound hilarious when I say it out loud."

The other questions seemed to leave Jinbei as he laughed, "Jihahahha! Yeah a shark in a tree does seem a bit funny."

Arlo nodded and grabbed a piece of bacon. He then remembered the bowl of strawberries on the counter. He grabbed an put them down in front of himself. He chose a big juicy one. Before he ate it he asked Jinbei, "Want some?"

"Sure," he grabbed a handful, "So do we have a busy day?"

Arlo swallowed his second strawberry, "Well I do, but I don't know about you. Today is Thursday, so I usually give swimming lessons to the local kids."

"Oh yeah, Sam and Bobby mentioned that when I first met them and Timbo."

"That doesn't surprise me, they're the best swimmers. Want to help me out? The kids would love to see another fish-man."

"Actually some to them think that I'm a sea devil," laughed Jinbei.

Arlo tried to swallow a laugh, "Really? Now that's funny."

"But yeah it should be fun."

"Don't worry it will be," replied Arlo as he wiped his mouth. He got up grabbed a piece of toast and headed out the door.

Jinbei followed with a handful of strawberries. "So are there any big orders today?" asked Jinbei as he ate another strawberry. Arlong ran after them barking happily as he passed them up the road.

"Nah just some local villages are coming today. I think there might be a navy ship coming in a couple days. Then next week there's a pretty big pirate crew coming into port. At least that's what I remember but we'll be gone by then," Arlo said thoughtfully as he took a bite of toast.

"Do you think the navy ship would know anything about pirates in the New World?" Jinbei asked all of a sudden.

"Sure," answered as he finished his piece of toast, "But only privates come to the store to receive the orders. The only high ranking officer that comes into the store for these types of pickups is my uncle, Sunflower, but that's on very rare occasions. If you did run into him, I doubt he'll tell you anything about the New World in regards to pirates."

"Oh," Jinbei grabbed another strawberry. He tried to change the subject, "Is he your mother's brother?"

"Yeah he is."

"What's your Uncle's rank?"

"He's one of the three admirals," answered Arlo.

Jinbei almost chocked on the strawberry in his mouth, "An admiral?!"

"Yep, in fact he's the second youngest marine to obtain the rank. The youngest was a man named Zephyr. His code name is Admiral Kurorion, which means Black Lion."

Jinbei stopped for a moment, "Wait a minute your uncle is the Kurorion?"

"Yeah, have you heard of him?"

"He's probably one of the best known marines in the New World. Isn't he, also known as the Roar of Justice?"

"Yeah but I think that's mostly from his devil fruit."

"Devil Fruit?"

"Yeah, like Uncle Sky he has a mythical zoan. I think it's called the Fu Dog fruit, which is a bit ironic since Fu dogs are actually big guardian lions."

Jinbei laughed, "No wonder he's called the Roar of Justice."

"Yeah."

Jinbei's mind was slightly blown, "This family certainly fascinating, an admiral for an uncle and two minks for a mother and grandfather," he thought to himself. He finished his final strawberry, "Those were good," he said out loud."

"I got them from the market a couple days ago. I think the vendor said that they came from an East Blue strain, which is the best"

"Huh, well they were still good."

"Yeah they are," said Arlo as they entered through the back door.

C.J. was sitting at the cooling table. She was wearing loose fitting red flannel sleeper pants and one of Arlo's old Gecko shirts. She let out a big cat like yawn. "Morning Bud, Jinbei! Sleep well?"

Arlo walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup, "Yep I slept like a dead puppy last night."

A yawn escaped Jinbei's lips. C.J. turned to him, "Aww is the little demon tired?"

Jinbei didn't know how to answer. He rubbed his eye, "No ma'am I'm just trying to wake up."

Arlo on the other hand let out a hearty laugh, "Shahaha!" C.J. and Jinbei just looked at him. He wiped his eyes on his arm, "Sorry sorry the demon part got me. Are Nym and Papa up yet?"

"I think that Pa is still asleep. As for Nymphadora, she's in the shower right now. I'm going to take mine once she's out," replied C.J. "So what were you guys talking about on the walk up here?"

Arlo sat down and took a sip of coffee, "Orders mainly and Sunflower."

"Is he really you're brother?" asked Jinbei.

C.J. laughed, "Mehohoho, no we're just really good friends. Our friendship is very similar to Arlo and Dracule's. We've been friends since we were very young. There's no one in this world I trust more than Sunflower. I'm sure he'd say the same about me."

"Oh," said Jinbei.

Suddenly Arlong started barking. "Good morning Arlong!" said Timbo. Everyone inside could tell that the dog started to jump when Timbo said, "Down boy, good boy. Is everyone else inside?"

"Yeah, we are Tim!" yelled Arlo.

Timbo came in the door. "Are we all having coffee? Hey Lo pour me one will, you?" he asked as he sat down.

"Sure," answered Arlo. He poured one and handed it to Timbo.

"What, no cream and sugar?"

"You didn't mention it, so get it yourself," smiled Arlo. Timbo grabbed his cup and fixed it up right. With one hand Arlo walked around and turned on the machine. Once the machines were humming, he took a seat.

C.J. finished her cup and got up. "Well I think I'll get ready now. Beauty takes time though I don't really need it." She left from a side door. Arlo rolled his eyes.

He then turned to Jinbei and Timbo, "Well shall we get started?"

The morning passed without incident. Orders came and went. There was a near lull to it all. At one o'clock Arlo was getting ready to head for the river. "Hey Jinbei, still want to give me a hand with the swimming lesson?" asked Arlo.

"Sure," he answered.

"Oh that reminds me that I need to go to Aunt Clara's," said CJ as she entered the back room. "I'm dead if I skip that invitation. You three will be fine on your own, right Pa?"

"Yes we will, Collie, now you three get yourselves going," answered Hank.

"Yeah, that's fine," said Nym off handily.

"Great, thanks guys," said Arlo, "Jinbei ready to go? Mom?"

"Yep, let's go," said CJ. The three of them left from the back door.

CJ jumped onto her son's back. She got closer to his head started to purr, "Garchu."

Arlo blushed a little since Jinbei was there but he quickly returned the purr with the same sound, "Garchu," Jinbei shrugged and thought it was some wired Mink thing. Arlo then laughed, "Too lazy to walk?"

"Nope, it's just payback from all the times I had to carry you." She gave him a hug, "Should I open up with the mermaid story?"

Arlo shrugged and CJ readjusted herself, "That seems like a little too soon."

It was CJ's turn to shrug, "I guess, but I just don't want her to talk about me and Sunflower not being a couple."

"Well why not? He's a famous marine wouldn't you two be happy together?" asked Jinbei.

She gave him a quick glare then a smile. "Sure," answered CJ, "but life got in the way and really we're just better off as friends."

"Maybe but I don't think it'll come to that, besides she seemed really excited about your story. It's sure to make it into her book. When is she going to publish it anyway?" asked Arlo.

"When she dies or turns ninety, whichever comes first laughed CJ, "Have you started packing yet?"

"No, I went to bed as soon as I got home. I'll start my list after the lesson."

Jinbei laughed, "Yeah we haven't really talked about supplies."

"Yeah and also we need Nym and Tim's opinions as well," said Arlo as they arrived at the crossroads to Aunt Clara's house.

"Ahh I see," said CJ as she climbed down, "Looks like we part here. See you later boys," she said as she walked towards the beach.

The two of them started to walk to the river. Jinbei was still a little confused, "Who is Aunt Clara?"

"Oh she's kind of like the village's honorary mayor," answered Arlo.

"Oh so she's not really your aunt?"

Arlo chuckled, "No, it's more of a title of respect the village has given to her over the years. She was actually a good friend of my great grandmother."

"How old is she?"

"Eighty-seven or as she puts it eighty-seven years young," laughed Arlo. As they came to the river something felt a little off. "Huh, that's strange," said Arlo.

"What?" asked Jinbei.

"Normally the kids are splashing and joking around. They came upon a group of twelve kids sitting in two perfect rows of six.


	18. Chapter 18

The kids were glaring at each other. Arlo and Jinbei exchanged confused looks. "I thought it would be livelier," said Jinbei.

"I know, normally they're splashing and goofing around," replied Arlo. He turned to the kids, "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Hey, Arlo, which one of you is stronger?" asked Sam.

"Yeah Arlo are you or Mr. Jinbei stronger?" asked Bobby, "I say it's Mr. Jinbei, but Sam says it's you."

Arlo felt a little betrayed by Bobby and the five other kids sitting behind him. He then cracked a grin, "Well I say we're about equal in strength. Besides we're here to swim not to fight."

"But we really want to know who's stronger," said Sam.

"You know Arlo is probably stronger than me," said Jinbei not really wanting to fight his new friend.

"Save it, Jinbei, these little blood thirsty monsters want a fight," laughed Arlo.

"They're probably more tame then most of the kids I know," Jinbei laughed back.

"Shahaha, remind me not to go wondering alone in your neighborhood. Well let's give them a show." Arlo got into a fight stance.

Jinbei got into one as well. He smiled, "Okay, I hope you can keep up."

Arlo returned the smile, "You're on."

The kids cheered as the two fish-men circled each other. They couldn't look more different. One was broad while the other was lean. "Remember this is all in good fun," they thought as they charged at each other.

While the fighting was going on, C.J. entered Aunt Clara's house. She always felt happy coming here. She could smell the burning sage as she entered the main room. "Hello Coleen Jubilee," said Aunt Clara as she entered through the beaded curtain. The beads made the sound of fresh rain.

"Hi Aunt Clara, Arlo said you wanted to see me." She sat down at the table.

"Yes I do and I'm glad that you came," replied Clara. She walked to the small kitchen, "Tea? How was your trip?"

"Yes please. The trip was really good." Aunt Clara handed her a glass. "Arlo probably told you, that I had a great story from this trip."

"Oh, I know, I almost had him tell me the story himself. However you have such a flare for storytelling. Wait let me get my note book and pen. She walked to another room. C.J. looked down at her glass, took a drink. She took a deep breath as Aunt Clara came back into the room. "Now before you start, how is Samson?"

"Sunflower? He's fine. He heard that he was in the running for the next fleet admiral, if Kong retires."

"It's never easy for us old folks to let go of our responsibilities. Is Kong an old man?"

"No he's about five years older than Pa; at least that's my guess."

"So it was just an excuse to celebrate."

"Heh, I guess so," laughed C.J.

"Or was it a date?" Clara asked coyly.

C.J. blushed and waved her hands, "No we were just celebrating as friends. Besides that's not my story."

Aunt Clara sat down, "You're right; I just got a bit carried away. You two really would make a cute couple." C.J.'s blush grew darker. "So what's your story?"

C.J. grinned, "I saw a mermaid."

Clara started writing it down, "What a mermaid? What subspecies? How old? Was she scared? What was her name? Why was she so far out?"

C.J. laughed, "Woah one question at a time. Let's see I guess she was a bit scared but I just laughed after she had calmed down a bit."

"Your laugh definitely has a calming effect on people especially children."

"Yeah I guess so. As far as her age, I would say that she was about six or seven. I think her subspecies was a type of shark."

"Huh, a mer-child, you think that they wouldn't travel that far."

C.J. nodded in agreement and started to tell the story of her week on Sababody. "After the last day there, I just wanted to take her home with me, but the land is no place for a mermaid. She told me that she wanted to stay with me, but I tried to tell why that wasn't a good idea. I think she understood. So I told her that she that I would be back soon."

"So you kind of lied to her?"

"Yeah, but she said she understood. Then she left that evening. That night however I had a strange dream, at least I thought it was dream. Maybe I was awake, but I just don't know."

"So what was this dream?" asked Clara as she continued to write the story down.

C.J. took a sip of tea and began to tell her story, "Well it was really late, and my best guess was that it was near midnight. All of a sudden I felt something on my scarred shoulder also I smelled sassafras. Then I saw my son's blue eyes."

"Oh so you were dreaming of Arlo?"

"I thought so at first, but this dream felt different. I really don't know how to describe it."

"Like he was Arlo, but not quite him?"

"Exactly, then it hit me I was staring at Arlong."

"Arlo's imaginary friend?" asked Aunt Clara, "Now I know you were dreaming. However I feel like that there's more to this story. So how did you know it was Arlong?"

"Now don't get ahead, but there is more to it. As for how I knew, it was this strange maternal thing, instinct? So I did the first thing I could think of."

Aunt Clara stopped writing and asked, "Which was?"

C.J. started to tear up and chuckled, "I just hugged him."

"You hugged him?"

"Yes and surprisingly he hugged back. I don't know how to describe the feeling of this hug. I think the thing I could equate it to was when I held Arlo for the first time. I didn't want that moment to end on both accounts. I wonder how he felt."

"But?"

"But of course he let go. Poor boy was a bit freaked out. I think we both started to cry. Then he muttered a couple words. I think I heard the word, "Mama." Then he ran out of my room."

"I take it you ran after him?"

"Yes, but he was in the water before I could catch him."

"I see. How much did you tell Arlo?"

C.J. took a drink of tea, "I've told him as much as I've told you."

"Was this really a dream, Coleen?"

"I'm telling you it was Aunt Clara, because if it were real…" she grabbed her scar as more tears came to the forefront, "I would be a terrible parent."

"You care this deeply for a child you don't know?"

C.J. started to cry, "Yes, I do. I swear there was a sadness to him after he let go and I wanted to do everything in the world to fix it for him."

"But he left before you could do anything?"

C.J. rubbed the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, "Yes, look can we change the subject?" She took a sip of tea, "Did you hear about Donny's son Don sinking that navy ship?"

"Yes," laughed Aunt Clara, "He seems to be following in his daddy's footsteps."

C.J. was happy for the subject change, "Of course we were a lot younger."

"True and incredibly lucky."

"Yeah so do you have the story written down?"

"Only the mermaid one. There's no mention of the dream.

For a second C.J. felt stunned. He should be mentioned, but then she remembered that it was just a dream, right? "Good," she said out loud. Then she recounted the rest of her adventure. When the conversation ran its course, C.J. got up.

"It was wonderful catching up with you, Coleen Jubilee," said Aunt Clara.

"Yeah it was good talking to you as well Aunt Clara," replied C.J. with a smile. She gave a final wave and left. Talking with Aunt Clara had helped a little. However she couldn't help but think about Arlong Sharly. She gave a short smile. Then she heard Arlong barking.

"Hello Ms. C.J.," said Jinbei.

"Hey Mom, did you have a good talk with Aunt Clara?" asked Arlo as he came down the path.

"Yeah, I did. How did the swimming lessons go…" then she got a good look at the two of them, "What the heck happened to you two?"

AN: Hi folks Sanders here! Sorry for the delay of this chapter, but I had other things going on. I just wanted to say thanks for sticking with this story. Also both Arlo and I have Tumblr accounts, so feel free to ask us any questions you may have. You can find them At Ask-Arlo (Arlo's) and ask-rsanders22 (mine)

Anyway thanks for reading Arlo's story so far. See you in the next chapter, Sanders


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